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IC^ 8937 



Bureau of Mines Information Circular/1983 




Phosphate Rock Availability—Domestic 

A Minerals Availability Program Appraisal 



By R. J. Fantel, D. E. Sullivan, and G. R. Peterson 




UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 



.f^J^MJ^^ S^'^i!!ff!l^J^^ 



Information Circular] 8937 



Phosphate Rock Availability— Domestic 

A Minerals Availability Program Appraisal 



By R. J. Fantel, D. E. Sullivan, and G. R. Peterson 




UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
James G. Watt, Secretary 

BUREAU OF MINES 
Robert C. Norton, Director 



This publication has been cataloged as follows: 



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2 



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Fantel, R. J. (Richard J.) 

Phosphate rock availability— domestic. 

(Information circular / Bureau of Mines ; 8937) 

Includes bibliographical references. 

Supt. of Docs, no.: I 28.27:8937. 

1. Phosphate rock — United States. I. Sullivan, Daniel E. II. Pe- 
terson, Gary R. III. Title. IV. Series: Information circular (United 
States. Bureau of Mines) ; 8937. 



TN295.U4 fTN914.U5l 622s [333.8'5] 83-600069 



PREFACE 

The Bureau of Mines is assessing the worldwide availability of nonfuel 
minerals. The Bureau identifies, collects, compiles, and evaluates in- 
formation on active, developed, and explored mines and deposits, and on 
mineral processing plants worldwide. Objectives are to classify domes- 
tic and foreign resources; to identify by cost evaluation, resources 
fO that are reserves; and to prepare analyses of mineral availabilities. 

:::; This report is part of a continuing series of reports that analyze the 

availability of minerals from domestic and foreign sources and the 
factors affecting availability. Analyses of other minerals are in prog- 
ress. Questions about these reports should be addressed to Chief, Divi- 

:^ sion of Minerals Availability, Bureau of Mines, 2401 E St., NW. , Wash- 

^ ington, D.C. 20241. 



ro 



I 






Ill 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Preface 1 

Abstract 1 

Introduction 2 

Acknowledgments 4 

The domestic phosphate Industry 4 

Evaluation methodology 6 

Geology of domestic phosphate deposits 11 

The Southeast 11 

Tennessee 15 

The West 15 

Domestic phosphate resources 17 

The Southeast 17 

Tennessee 20 

The West 20 

Domestic phosphate mining and benef Iclatlon methods 23 

Domestic phosphate costs 26 

Comparison of southeastern and western resources 28 

Availability of domestic phosphate resources 29 

Total availability 29 

Potential annual availability 33 

Conclusions 35 

References 36 

Appendix A. — Domestic phosphate deposit status and ownership 38 

Appendix B. — The Zellars-Wllllams cost model for Florida phosphate — description 

of typical cases 40 

Appendix C, — Domestic phosphate regulatory and environmental constraints and 

permitting 56 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

1 . Phosphate rock uses 2 

2. Domestic phosphate rock consumed In 1980 3 

3 . Integration of Idaho phosphate deposits 6 

4 . Flow chart of MAS evaluation procedure 8 

5. Mineral resource classification categories 8 

6. Southeastern U.S. phosphate districts 13 

7. Location of Tennessee phosphate deposits 15 

8. Location of Western U.S. phosphate deposits 16 

9. Area coverage In the Central Land-Pebble District (Including the southern 

extension) , Florida 19 

10. Isopach map of the overburden overlying the Hawthorn Formation In Florida. 21 

11. Isopach map of the Hawthorn Formation In Florida 22 

12. Typical process flowsheet, Southeastern United States 23 

13. Typical process flowsheet, Western United States 25 

14. Phosphate rock potentially recoverable from all domestic deposits 30 

15. Phosphate rock potentially recoverable from all Florida and North Carolina 

deposits 30 

16. Phosphate rock potentially recoverable from all western deposits 31 

17. Phosphate rock potentially recoverable from all domestic deposits, at 

selected grade ranges 31 

18. Phosphate rock potentially recoverable from producing mines and nonproduc- 

ing deposits 33 



IV 



ILLUSTRATIONS—Continued 



Page 



19. Potential annual availability of phosphate rock from producing mines.... 34 

20. Potential annual availability of phosphate rock from nonproducing 

deposits 35 

TABLES 

1. U.S. phosphate rock production 3 

2. Deposit characteristics of Southeastern U.S. phosphate districts 12 

3. Summary of Southeastern U.S. demostrated phosphate resources 18 

4. Additional phosphate resources, Southeastern United States 18 

5. Summary of Western U.S. demonstrated phosphate resources 21 

6 . Operating costs for domestic phosphate operations 27 

7. Estimated capital costs to develop nonproducing phosphate deposits in 

the United States 28 

8. 1981 phosphate rock prices -»,,, 32 

B-1. Mining and milling production cost summary 41 

B-2. Production cost of typical large mine in higher quality ore (case I).... 41 
B-3. Production cost of typical medium-sized mine in higher quality ore 

(case 11) 42 

B-4. Production cost of typical medium-sized mine in higher quality ore 

(case IIA) 43 

B-5. Production cost of typical small mine in higher quality ore (case III).. 44 

B-6. Production cost of typical large mine in lower quality ore (case IV).... 45 

B-7. Production cost of typical small mine in lower quality ore (case V) 46 

B-8. Operating parameters for average mine (case I) 47 

B-9. Operating parameters for average mine (case II) 48 

B-IO. Operating parameters for average mine (case IIA) 49 

B-11. Operating parameters for average mine (case III) 50 

B-12. Operating parameters for average mine (case IV) 51 

B-13. Operating parameters for average mine (case V) 52 

B-14. Capital costs of typical large mine in lower quality ore (case IV) 54 

B-15. Capital costs of typical small mine in lower quality ore (case V) 55 



PHOSPHATE ROCK AVAILABILITY-DOMESTIC 

A Minerals Availability Program Appraisal 
By R. J. Fantel, ^ D. E. Sullivan,^ and G. R. Peterson-^ 



ABSTRACT 

To determine the availability of phosphate rock from domestic re- 
sources, the Bureau of Mines evaluated the potential production of phos- 
phate rock from the demonstrated resources of 130 mines and deposits. 
The evaluation included an estimation of resources, engineering methods, 
and capital and operating costs, and an economic analysis to determine 
each operation's average total cost of production over the life of the 
mine, including a 15-pct discounted-cash-f low rate of return on all 
investments. Quantified but not evaluated in this report are sub- 
stantial phosphate resources at the inferred and hypothetical resource 
levels. 

The 130 mines and deposits contain 6.4 billion tons of recoverable 
phosphate rock product, about 20 pet from producing mines. At total 
production costs of under $30 per ton in January 1981 dollars, about 1.3 
billion tons of phosphate rock product is potentially available, over 90 
pet from producing mines. This study suggests that production from low- 
cost, high-grade phosphate mines now in operation will decline during 
the next decade, and new higher cost, lower grade mines will have to be 
developed to satisfy demand into the next century. 

In addition to the demonstrated resources evaluated in this study, 
7 billion tons of inf erred-level and 24 billion tons of hypothetical- 
level phosphate rock are potentially recoverable, which, in part, in- 
cludes material containing high amounts of magnesium. Much of this 
material could likely become available in the near future. 

'Geologist. 

o 

■'Economxst. 

-^Mineral economist. 

Authors are with the Minerals Availability Field Office, Bureau of Mines, Denver, 

Colo. 



INTRODUCTION 



Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are 
the three primary nutrients necessary for 
plant growth. When these elements are 
either lacking or depleted from the soil, 
their addition is necessary to obtain 
higher agricultural yields. The only 
practical commercial source of phosphorus 
is phosphate rock. 

Phosphate ore consists of the calcium 
phosphate mineral apatite with quartz, 
calcite, and dolomite, along with clay 



and iron oxide minerals as the gangue. 
Industry practice, which is followed in 
this study, uses "phosphate rock" to 
refer to the beneficiated product of 
phosphate ore rather than to the in situ 
material. After benef iciation, phosphate 
rock ranges from 26 to about 34 pet P2O5 
(phosphorus pentoxide) . Phosphate rock 
can be converted to phosphoric acid by 
the chemical "wet" process, or to ele- 
mental phosphorus in an electric furnace. 
The quality of phosphate rock for the 



o 

•H 
4-> 
O 

3 
XI 

u 



CO 
B 

S-i 
0) 

H 



PHOSPHATE 
ROCK 



Defluorination 



->• Animal feeds 



Grinding 



Acidulation (H_SO, , — 
2 4) 

Acidulation (HNO )2/- 



Acidulation (H^PO, ) 
J 4 




FERTILIZERS : 
Direct application 
Normal superphosphate 
Nitric phosphates 
Triple superphosphate 

Ammonium phosphates 
Direct application 



PHOSPHORIC 
ACID 



ELEMENTAL 
PHOSPHORUS 




and sometimes other acids, 



— HCl is used in a few cases. 



HNO could also be used. 




Various 



INDUSTRIAL AND 
FEED CHEMICALS 



FIGURE 1. - Phosphate rock uses. (Courtesy Stanford Research Institute Internat.ional .) 



"wet" process is affected by the con- 
tained amounts of aluminum, iron, and 
magnesium. Presently, phosphate rock 
containing more than about 1.0 pet mag- 
nesium oxide or more than about 3.5 pet 
iron oxide plus aluminum oxide may cause 
problems in the mnaufacture of acids. 

Phosphate rock (fig. 1) is used to pro- 
duce wet-process phosphoric acid, elec- 
tric furnace elemental phosphorus, and 
animal feed supplements, and is ground 
for direct application to acidic soil 
(2^). 4 Phosphoric acid can be converted 
to ammonium phosphates and other ferti- 
lizers. Figure 2 illustrates the con- 
sumption pattern of phosphate rock in the 
United States in 1980. Nearly 90 pet of 
the phosphate rock consumed in that year 
was used in agriculture, mainly in the 
manufacture of phosphoric acids for fer- 
tilizer (9). Of key importance is the 
fact that phosphorus is not recovered by 
recycling; hence, the total supply must 
come from the mine production of phos- 
phate rock. No substitute for phosphate 
fertilizers can be produced in the quan- 
tities required to sustain world agri- 
cultural production. 

Underlined numbers in parentheses re- 
fer to items in the list of references 
preceding the appendixes at the end of 
this report. 



TABLE 1. - U.S. phosphate rock pro- 
duction, 1 million metric tons 





1960 


1970 


1980 


Southeastern States2,,, 
Tennessee 


12.5 
2.0 
3.3 


28.4 
2.9 
3.9 


47.2 
1.6 


Western States^ 


5.6 


Total 


17.8 


35.2 


54.4 



"phosphate rock refers to beneficiated 
product. 

2Florida and North Carolina. 

^ Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and 
California (1970). 

Sources: Stowasser (14); Bureau of 
Mines Mineral Industry Surveys, Market- 
able Phosphate Rock — February 1981; and 
the Phosphate Rock chapters of the 1962 
and 1971 editions of the Bureau of Mines 
Minerals Yearbook (v. 1). 

The United States produced over 54 
million tonsS of phosphate rock in 1980 
(table 1), accounting for approximately 
40 pet of total world output. Approxi- 
mately 26 pet of this production was 
exported and an additional 33 pet was 
converted to wet acid and exported as 
fertilizer and chemicals (16). The other 
two main phosphate rock producers are the 
U.S.S.R. and Morocco, which produced 



^Unless otherwise noted, "tons" 
report refers to metric tons. 



in the 



U.S. demand 
100% (40,305) 



Industrial 
10.6% (4,273) 



Agriculture 
89.4% (36,032) 



Fcrrophosphorus 
0.5% (190) 



Elemental 

phosphorus 

10.1% (4,083) 



Direct Phosphoric Triple Normal Defluorinated 

applications acid superphosphate superphosphate rock 
0.1% (37) 84.1% (33,884) 3.3% (1,348) 0.8% (333) 1.1% (430) 



FIGURE 2. - Domestic phosphate rock consumed in 1980, in thousand metric tons. 
(Modified from reference 9 with data from reference 13, table 6.) 



approximately 25 and 21 million tons of 
phosphate rock, respectively. Cumula- 
tively, these three countries accounted 
for approximately three-fourths of world 
production in 1980. Although the U.S. 
Government does not maintain a phosphate 
rock stockpile, private companies main- 
tain stockpiles which may amount to about 
25 pet of production. 

The major foreign markets for phosphate 
rock are Western and Eastern Europe and 
Asia. In 1978, Western Europe imported 
more than 21 million tons. Eastern Europe 
more than 10 million tons, and countries 
in Asia almost 7 million tons. 

In the United States phosphate is 
traded both as rock product and in the 
upgraded chemical forms. Although in the 
past Morocco produced primarily phosphate 
rock, processing facilities are being 
expanded to increase phosphoric acid and 
processed phosphate production. 



Phosphate 
North Carol 
turing phos 
(although ro 
calcining) . 
Tennessee i 
naces to e 
acid-grade 
Idaho, Utah, 



rock produced in Florida and 
ina is suitable for manufac- 
phoric acid and fertilizer 
ck in North Carolina requires 
Phosphate rock produced in 
s processed in electric fur- 
lemental phosphorus. Some 
phosphate rock produced in 
and Montana is also calcined 



before processing to produce acids. 
Furnace-grade phosphate rock produced in 
the West is reduced from the ore to ele- 
mental phosphorus in electric furnaces. 

The United States has traditionally 
been the world's largest net exporter of 
phosphate rock and related fertilizer 
products. Over the past several years, 
however, continuing exports of phosphate 
rock from Florida have become the subject 
of controversy. Some industry sources 
content that Florida has enough phosphate 
to supply the domestic and export markets 
for almost 300 years at current rates of 
production, assuming a gradually rising 
price and using present and new technol- 
ogy (11) , Conversely, William Stowasser, 
Bureau of Mines Phosphate Commodity 
Specialist and the General Accounting 
Office (GAO) forecast that by the turn of 
the century the United States may cease 
exporting phosphate rock (11). 

This report is part of a continuing 
series in which the availibility of min- 
erals from domestic and foreign sources 
and the factors affecting availability 
are analyzed. The importance of phos- 
phorus in agricultural production under- 
scores the need to determine the poten- 
tial availability of phosphate rock from 
domestic resources. 



I 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



The authors thank William F. Stowasser 
of the Bureau of Mines, Division of Non- 
ferrous Metals; James B. Cathcart of the 
U.S. Geological Survey; and John P. 
Bernardi of International Minerals and 
Chemical Corp. , for their assistance. 
Production and cost data for the deposits 



analyzed were developed at Bureau of 
Mines Field Operations Centers in Denver, 
Colo., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Spokane, 
Wash, The Minerals Availability Field 
Office in Denver performed the economic 
evaluations on the properties and pre- 
pared this report. 



THE DOMESTIC PHOSPHATE INDUSTRY 



Most of the phosphate rock produced in 
the United States is used to manufacture 
wet-process phosphoric acid. Because 
phosphate rock is relatively low in water 
solubility, it is converted to chemical 
components for fertilizer application. 
The wet process produces phosphoric acid 
by digesting the apatite mineral in 



sulfuric acid, Diammonium phosphate 
(DAP), a common bulk blending-grade fer- 
tilizer chemical, is produced by reacting 
phosphoric acid with ammonia. If the 
phosphate rock is attacked with phos- 
phoric acid, triple superphosphate (TSP) 
is produced. When wet-process phosphoric 
acid is subjected to evaporation, a 



higher concentration of phosphoric acid 
is produced; when reacted with ammonia, 
phosphoric acid produces a liquid ammo- 
nium phosphate fertilizer ( 23 ) . 

The Midwestern States (particularly the 
Corn Belt) consume approximately half of 
all the fertilizer used in the United 
States. The other half is split nearly 
evenly between the Western and Eastern 
States, Phosphate fertilizer is consumed 
mainly to produce beans, corn, cotton, 
cereal grains, and soybeans (9). 

Phosphate animal feed supplements are 
produced by the def luorinization of 
either phosphate rock or phosphoric acid. 
Lime is reacted with def luorinated phos- 
phoric acid to produce dicalcium phos- 
phate. These phosphate animal feeds are 
used to increase the nutritional quality 
of livestock feed (23). 

Elemental phosphorus is produced by 
reducing phosphate rock in an electric 
furnace plant and marketed as is , or oxi- 
dized to produce phosphoric acid and 
anhydrous derivatives. Approximately 50 
pet of elemental phosphorus produced is 
used to produce sodium tripolyphosphate, 
a detergent builder. 

The potential byproducts fluorine, 
phosphogypsum, uranium, and vanadium in 
phosphate rock were not considered in 
this study. 

More than 20 companies mined and pro- 
cessed phosphate rock in the United 
States in 1980. Firms in Florida and 
North Carolina include Agrico Chemical 
Co. , Amax Phosphate, Inc. , Brewster Phos- 
phates, C. F. Industries, Inc., Gardin- 
ier. Inc., W. R. Grace and Co., Interna- 
tional Minerals and Chemical Corp. (IMC), 
Mobil Chemical Co. , Estech General Chemi- 
cal Co., USS Agri-Chemicals, Occidental 
Chemical Co., and Texasgulf , Inc; those 
in Idaho, Montana, and Utah are Conda 
Partnership, Monsanto Industrial Chemi- 
cals, J. R. Simplot Co., Stauffer Chemi- 
cal Co. , Cominco American, Inc. , and 
Chevron U.S.A.; Tennessee firms include 
Hooker Chemical Co. , Monsanto Industrial 
Chemicals Co. , and Stauffer Chemical 
Co. (16). 



Other companies are presently develop- 
ing domestic deposits, some of which pro- 
duced in 1981-82, and others of which 
will be producing in the near future. 
They include Beker Phosphate Corp. Farm- 
land Industries, Inc., in Florida, and 
North Carolina Phosphate Corp. in North 
Carolina. Numerous other companies have 
explored deposits throughout the United 
States, many of which were considered in 
this study (appendix A). 

The domestic phosphate industry exhib- 
its a high degree of vertical integration 
and is highly concentrated: 15 companies 
supplied over 95 pet of the country's 
phosphate rock production during the 
1970's (J_4, p. 3). 

Once mined and benef iciated, phosphate 
rock is transported either to a phos- 
phoric acid or elemental phosphorus 
plant, or to a port for export. The rock 
is most commonly shipped by rail, 
although occasionally it is shipped by 
truck or slurry pipeline for short dis- 
tances, or by barge for seaway hauls. 

In Florida, most rock is sent either to 
nearby acid plants or directly to the 
port of Tampa for export or shipment to 
domestic users; some also goes to port at 
Jacksonville. Products from the acid 
plants are also shipped by rail to the 
ports of Tampa or Jacksonville for either 
export or shipment to domestic users. 
Most of the rock mined in Florida is pro- 
cessed within the State, In North Caro- 
lina, most of the rock is used to manu- 
facture phosphoric acids for export or 
shipment to domestic users from the port 
at Morehead City, 

In 1978 approximately 70 pet of Florida 
and North Carolina rock was used for 
domestic markets (mainly in the East and 
Midwest), and the remaining 30 pet was 
exported (9), 

All phosphate rock in Tennessee is used 
to manufacture elemental phosphorus at 
plants in the Columbia and Mount Pleas- 
ant, Tenn. , areas. 

In Idaho, phosphate rock is used 
to produce phosphoric fertilizer and 



elemental phosphorus. A.cid is produced 
primarily in Pocatello or Conda, Idaho; 
elemental phosphorus is produced primar- 
ily in Soda Springs and Pocatello, Idaho, 
and Silverbow, Mont. Figure 3 shows the 
disposition of Idaho phosphate rock. 

Deposits in Utah and Wyoming produce, 
or would produce, rock used for manufac- 
turing acid and phosphorus. The Vernal 
Mine in Utah ships most of its phosphate 
rock out of the State for processing. It 



was assumed for the purposes of this 
study that if processing plants were not 
built on site or nearby, the acid-grade 
rock from the nonproducing deposits in 
Utah and Wyoming could be processed in 
Pocatello, Idaho; and furnace-grade rock 
for elemental phosphorus production in 
Soda Springs, Idaho. Approximately 
80 pet of all western rock is consumed 
domestically, mainly in the Western 
States (13). 



EVALUATION METHODOLOGY 



For this study, 130 domestic mines and 
deposits were examined. These deposits 
include resources of phosphate rock at 
the demonstrated level that met the cri- 
teria of this study (listed below) and 
could be mined and beneficiated with cur- 
rent technology. The reserve and re- 
source tonnage and grade calculations 



included in this study were derived from 
company data, published and unpublished 
sources, contractor-supplied information, 
and Bureau of Mines estimates. 

Typically, beneficiated phosphate rock 
contains 7 to 20 pet moisture. 
Currently, most processes to convert 



CONDA MINE 



GAY MINE 



HENRY AND NORTH HENRY MINES 



H M L 

'- L|J 

Processing 
( Simplot at Conda ) 

Washing plant, . . 

calclner S— S 



( Simplot and FMC ) 
H M L 



1— ^L^Prc 



Stockpile on site 



-*- Processing 



Processing 
FMC at Pocatello 

Calciner , 
phosphorus plant 



(Valley Nitrogen At California) 



Fertilizer plant 



Processing 
( Simplot at Pocatello ) 

Calciner, 
fertilizer plant 



MAYBE CANYON MINE 



Conda partnership 
H M L 



l-J 



Processing 
( Conda partnership at Conda ) 
Washing plant, 

^ calciner 

I ^Processing 



Processing 
( Beker at Conda ) 
Fertilizer plant- 




Monsanto 
H M L 

Processing 

( Monsanto at Soda Springs ) 

Calciner, 
phosphorus plant 



PHOSPHORUS CHEMICAL 
MANUFACTURERS 



WOOLEY VALLEY MINE 



(Stauffer) 
H M L 



U 



^ 



Processing 
( Stauffer at Leefe ) 
Washing plant, 
calciner 



(Western at Alberta) 
Fertilizer plant 



} 

Processing 
( Stauffer at Silverbow ) 
Calciner, 
phosphorus plant 



Processing 
( Stauffer at Garfield ) 
Fertilizer plant 



(H-High grade, M-Medium grade, L-Low grade) 

FIGURE 3. - Integration of Idaho phosphate deposits. 



phosphate rock into its numerous end uses 
will accept wet rock feed, although less 
than 3 pet moisture is desirable. The 
final product in this study is dry phos- 
phate rock sold f.o.b. mill. In this 
form, phosphate rock is used in chemical 
processes that create a number of prod- 
ucts. The f.o.b. mill value was the com- 
mon basis that was acceptable for this 
study; therefore the additional costs for 
further processing the phosphate rock 
into its many end products were not in- 
cluded. Transportation charges, although 
discussed in the report, are not included 
in the economic evaluations of individual 
phosphate properties. For this study, 
the term "phosphate rock" refers to the 
beneficiated product, and "phosphate ore" 
refers to the minable material in the 
ground. Reserves and resources expressed 
in terms of phosphate ore or rock are 
stated in dry tons. 

The analysis methodology of this study 
follows: 

1. The quantity and grade of domestic 
phosphate ore resources were evaluated in 
relation to physical and technological 
conditions that affected production from 
each deposit as of the study date, Janu- 
ary 1981. 

2. The capital investments and operat- 
ing costs for appropriate mining, concen- 
trating, and processing methods were 
estimated for each mine or deposit in 
January 1981 dollars. 

3. An analysis of each operation de- 
termined the total tonnage of phosphate 
rock at its associated production cost 
that could potentially be recovered at 
specific production levels for each 
deposit. 

4. After completion of the individual 
property analyses, all properties in- 
cluded in the study were simultaneously 
analyzed and aggregated into phosphate 
rock availability curves. These curves 
illustrate each operation's potential 



phosphate rock production at its average 
total cost of production. The average 
total cost of production for each opera- 
tion represents its "incentive price" to 
produce phosphate rock: the price at 
which a firm would be willing to produce 
phosphate rock over the long run, where 
revenues are sufficient to cover the 
average total cost of production, includ- 
ing a return on investment high enough to 
attract new capital (1). The rate of 
return used in this study is a 15-pct 
discounted-cash-f low rate of return 
(DCFROR) on the total investments of each 
operation. 

The data collected for this report are 
stored, retrieved, and analyzed in a com- 
puterized component of the Bureau's Min- 
erals Availability System (MAS). After a 
deposit was selected for analysis, an 
evaluation of the operation was begun. 
The flow of the MAS evaluation process 
from deposit identification to develop- 
ment of availability information is 
illustrated in figure 4. 

Information on the individual phosphate 
mines and deposits included in this study 
is in appendix A. Selection of deposits 
was limited to known deposits that have 
significant demonstrated reserves or 
resources. Reserves are miaterial that 
can be mined, processed, and marketed at 
a profit under prevailing economic and 
technologic conditions. Resources are 
concentrations of naturally occurring 
solid, liquid, or gaseous materials in or 
on the Earth's crust in such form that 
economic extraction of a commodity is 
currently or potentially feasible (19). 

For the deposits analyzed, tonnage 
estimates were made at the demonstrated 
resource level based on the mineral 
resource-reserve classification system 
developed jointly by the Bureau of Mines 
and the U.S. Geological Survey (19). 
The demonstrated resource category in- 
cludes measured plus indicated tonnages 
(fig. 5). 





dentif 
on 


cation 
d 














j~ Mineral ^ 
Indu st r ies 1 
1 Location 1 
' System 1 
1 (MILS) 1 
1 data J 

< 

MAS 

computer 

data 

base 


se 1 e ction 
of deposits 






















Tonnage 

and grade 

determination 








'-• 




— ¥ 


















1 




Enginee ring 

and cost 

evaluation 
















^ 








' ^ 




Deposit 

report 

preparation 




MAS 

per manen t 

deposit 

f i Ies 




r 


1 


t 



























Data 

selection and 

va I idation 



Taxes, 

royalties, 

cost indexes, 

prices, etc. 



Variable and 
parometer 
adjustments 



Economic 
analysis 



Datol 



Sensitivity 
analysis 



Availability I 
curves 



Anolyticol 
reports 



u 



w 



Doto 



Avaikibtllty 
curves 



Analytical 
reports 



FIGURE 4. - Flow chart of MAS evaluation procedure. 



Cumulative 
production 




IDENTIFIED RESOURCES 


UNDISCOVERED RESOURCES 


Demonstrated 


Inferred 


Probability range 

'-r\ 


Measured 


Indicated 


Hypothetical • Speculative 






ECONOMIC 






- - 


1 

-F 

-F - 


MARGINALLY 
ECONOMIC 




- 


SUB- 
ECONOMIC 





other 
occurrences 



Includes nonconventional and low-grade materials 



FIGURE 5. - Mineral resource classification categories. 



To be included in the analysis, phos- 
phate deposits had to meet technological 
criteria representing current acceptable 
industry standards. The criteria shown 
below for the southeastern deposits 
should be viewed as "guidelines" rather 
than an absolute lower limit ( 20 ) : 

1. Deposit size must be more than 5 
million tons of recoverable phosphate 
rock, 6 and that tonnage must be within an 
average radius of 1,5 miles^ from the 
center of the ore body. 

2. Deposit size must be more than 10 
million tons if the average overburden 
thickness is more than 6 m, and that ton- 
nage must be within an average radius of 
2 miles of the center of the ore body. 8 

3. Deposit size must be greater than 
15 million tons if the overburden average 
thickness is more than 9 m, and that ton- 
nage must be within an average radius of 
2.5 miles from the center of the ore 
body. 9 

4. The flotation feed grade must be 
more than 4.6 pet P2^5* 

5. The concentrate grade must be more 
than 27.5 pet P2^5' 

6. The phosphate concentration must be 
1 ton of recoverable product per 8 cu m 
of ore. 

7. The ore zone must be more than 
1.5 m thick. 

^Exceptions — if the deposit is adjacent 
to larger identified deposits or is in 
hardrock areas. 

'This radius equates to the resource 
ore body covering one-half of the area of 
the deposit, at an average of 2,500 tons 
per acre. 

°See footnotes 6 and 7 for exceptions 
and definitions. 

^See footnotes 6 and 7 for exceptions 
and definitions. 



8. Phosphate rock product must contain 
less than 1.5 pet magnesium oxide (MgO). 
(Resources of high-MgO phosphate deposits 
were quantified in this report, and tech- 
nological developments are discussed, but 
deposits containing greater than 1.0 pet 
MgO are not evaluated in this study.) 

The following criteria for developing 
resource estimates of Tennessee phosphate 
represent a range the central Tennessee 
phosphate companies recognize as repre- 
senting acceptable minable deposits (22): 

1. A minimum cutoff grade range of 16 
to 17.2 pet P2O5. 

2. Minimum ore thickness range of 0.6 
to 1.2 m. 



3. Maximum overburden-to-ore 
range of 3:1 to 4:1. 



ratio 



4. A minimum ore body size of 22,675 
dry tons of phosphate rock. The average 
ore body is small (150,000 to 1.2 million 
tons), which means that deposits at a 
number of separate locations may have to 
be mined to satisfy one company's annual 
requirement. 

The study criteria for explored depos- 
its in Utah and Wyoming include a minimum 
ore thickness of 0.91 m and a minimum 
average grade of 18 pet P2O5. For eco- 
nomic classification, minable resources 
were further subdivided by depth, thick- 
ness, dip, grade, and probability of 
occurrence. Resources above adit entry 
levellO were estimated and economically 
evaluated after site-specific corrections 
were applied. The quantity of resources 
occurring below adit entry level was not 
costed or economically evaluated in this 
study because of their extremely high 
recovery cost. 

^'-'Adit entry level is defined as the 
nearly horizontal access to the minable 
resource. The adit level also serves as 
a conduit for natural water drainage. 



10 



Evaluation of each phosphate property 
included determinations of phosphate 
resources, deposit development, technol- 
ogies, and costs. Information on the 
average grades, ore tonnages, and differ- 
ent physical characteristics affecting 
production from domestic phosphate depos- 
its was obtained from numerous sources, 
including Bureau of Mines and Geological 
Survey publications, professional jour- 
nals. State and industry publications, 
annual reports, company lOK reports and 
prospectuses filed with the Securities 
and Exchange Commission, data made avail- 
able to the Bureau of Mines by private 
companies or under contracts, and esti- 
mates made by Bureau of Mines person- 
nel based on personal knowledge and 
judgments. 

Capital expenditures were calculated 
for exploration, acquisition, develop- 
ment , mine plant and equipment , and con- 
structing and equipping the mill plant. 
Capital expenditures for mining and pro- 
cessing facilities include the costs of 
mobile and stationary equipment, con- 
struction, engineering, facilities and 
utilities, and working capital, A broad 
category, facilities and utilities 
(infrastructure), includes the cost of 
access and haulage facilities, water 
facilities, power supply, and personnel 
accommodations. Working capital is a 
revolving cash fund required for such 
operating expenses as labor, supplies, 
taxes, and insurance. 

Mine and mill operating costs were also 
calculated for each deposit. The total 
operating cost is a combination of direct 
and indirect costs. Direct operating 
costs include materials, utilities, pro- 
duction and maintenance labor, and pay- 
roll overhead. Indirect operating costs 
include technical support and clerical 
labor, administrative costs, facilities, 
maintenance and supplies, and research. 
Other costs in the analysis are fixed 
charges including local taxes, insurance, 
depreciation, deferred expenses, interest 
payments (if applicable) , and return on 
investment. 



The Bureau of Mines has developed the 
Supply Analysis Model (SAM) to perform 
DCFROR analyses to determine the price of 
the primary commodity required for an 
operation to obtain a specified rate of 
return on all of its investments (6), 
This determined value for the phosphate 
rock price is equivalent to the average 
total cost of production for the opera- 
tion over its producing life under the 
set of assumptions and conditions (e.g, , 
mine plan, full-capacity production, and 
a market for all output) that are neces- 
sary in order to make an evaluation. The 
DCFROR is most commonly defined as the 
rate of return that makes the present 
worth of cash flow from an investment 
equal the present worth of all after-tax 
investments (12, p, 232), For this 
study, a 15-pct DCFROR was considered the 
necessary rate of return to cover the 
opportunity cost of capital plus risk. 

Based on the MAS methodology, all capi- 
tal investments incurred 15 years before 
the initial year of the analyses (January 
1981) are treated as sunk costs. Capital 
investments incurred less than 15 years 
before January 1981 have the undepreci- 
ated balances carried forward to January 
1981, with all subsequent investments 
reported in constant January 1981 dollar 
terms. This computation means that for 
producing operations, the undepreciated 
capital investment remaining in 1981 was 
calculated. All reinvestment, operating, 
and transportation costs are expressed in 
January 1981 dollars. No escalation of 
either costs or prices was included be- 
cause it was assumed that any increase in 
costs would be offset by an increase in 
prices, 

A separate tax-records file, maintained 
for each State, contains the relevant 
fiscal parameters under which the mining 
firm would operate. This file includes 
corporate income taxes, property taxes, 
and any royalties, severance taxes, or 
other taxes that pertain to phosphate 
rock production. These tax parameters 
are applied to each mineral deposit under 
evaluation, with the implicit assumption 



11 



that each deposit represents a separate 
corporate entity. The system also con- 
tains an additional file of economic 
indexes to allow for continuous updating 
of all cost estimates to the base date of 
the study. 

Beginning with 1981, the first year of 
the analysis, detailed cash-flow analyses 
were generated for each preproduction and 
production year of an operation. Upon 
completion of the individual property 
analyses, all properties included in the 
study were simultaneously analyzed and 
aggregated onto resource-availability 
curves. The total resource-availability 
curve is a tonnage-cost relationship that 
shows the total quantity of recoverable 
product potentially available at each 
operation's average total cost of pro- 
duction over the life of the mine, deter- 
mined at the stipulated (15-pct) DCFROR. 
Thus, the curve is an aggregation of the 
total potential phosphate rock that could 
be produced over the entire producing 
life of each operation, ordered from 
operations with the lowest average total 
cost of production to those with the 
highest. The curve provides a concise, 
easy-to-read, graphic analysis of the 
comparative costs associated with any 
given level of potential total output and 
provides an estimate of what the average 



long-run phosphate price (in January 1981 
dollars) would likely have to be for a 
given tonnage to be potentially avail- 
able. Three types of curves can be gen- 
erated: (1) total-availability curves, 

(2) annual curves for selected years, and 

(3) annual curves at selected cost 
levels. 

Certain assumptions are inherent in the 
curves. First, all deposits produce at 
full operating capacity throughout the 
productive life of the deposit, and this 
capacity remains constant unless planned 
expansions were known. Second, each 
operation is able to sell all of its out- 
put at a price equal to or greater than 
the average total production cost. 
Third, development of each nonproducing 
deposit began in the same base year (N). 
Since it is difficult, if not impossible, 
to predict when the explored deposits are 
going to be developed, this assumption 
was necessary. Also, the preproduction 
period allows for only the minimum engin- 
eering and construction period necessary 
to initiate production under the proposed 
development plan. Consequently, the 
additional time lags and potential costs 
involved in filing environmental impact 
statements, receiving required permits, 
financing, etc. , have not been included 
in the individual deposit analyses. 



GEOLOGY OF DOMESTIC PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS 



THE SOUTHEAST 

Phosphate deposits in Florida and North 
Carolina are part of a phosphate province 
that extends from southern Florida north 
into Virginia. Most phosphate was depos- 
ited in rocks of Middle Miocene age (the 
Hawthorn and equivalent formations). 
These rocks underlie much of peninsular 
Florida and the Atlantic coastal plain. 
During the Upper Miocene and into the 
Pliocene the phosphate of the Hawthorn 
Formation was reworked, concentrated, and 
enriched and redeposited in the Bone 
Valley Formation (of Upper Miocene to 
Pliocene age). Redeposition also oc- 
curred in channelike deposits of Pleisto- 
cene age. Phosphate in the Hawthorn and 
equivalent formations was deposited when 



cold, phosphorus-enriched marine water 
welled up onto a shallow warm-water pla- 
teau or when cold, along-shore currents 
were turbulently mixed with warmer wa- 
ters, and phosphorus was precipitated. 
Structural features in the coastal plain 
partially controlled the deposition. The 
deposits are located in basins on the 
flanks of anticlines which were rising at 
that time; deposition occurred mainly in 
these basins. In central and southern 
Florida the Ocala Uplift and the Hills- 
borough High were the controlling fea- 
tures depositing phosphate on their 
flanks, whereas in northern Florida the 
Ocala Uplift was the main factor. In 
North Carolina, the Albemarle Embajonent 
and an unnamed high were responsible (4). 



12 



Phosphate deposits in the Bone Valley 
Formation are composed of phosphate par- 
ticles (ranging from pebble to clay 
size), quartz grains, carbonate grains, 
and clay minerals. The phosphate mineral 
is a carbonate-f luorpatite. Fine sand, 
sand, and pebble-size material can be 
recovered; silt and clay-size particles 
are too fine to recover economically with 
current technology. The amount of pebble 
(+1 mm size) in Bone Valley Formation 
deposits is important because most of the 
pebble is an economic product after sim- 
ple screening. Therefore, the higher the 
pebble content of the phosphate ore, the 
less benef iciation is required on the 
remainder, resulting in lower overall 
operating costs. 

The principal phosphate districts in 
the Southeast (fig. 6) are the Central 
Land-Pebble District of Florida (which 
includes the "southern extension"), the 
North Florida District (which extends 
into Georgia) , and the Pungo River Phos- 
phorite District of North Carolina. The 
Ridgeland Basin phosphorites in South 
Carolina (which includes the Savannah 
River deposits of Georgia) were not eval- 
uated for this study since they currently 
are defined at the identified resource 
level only. Because of their proximity, 
Florida's east coast deposits are dis- 
cussed along with the deposits in north- 
ern Florida. The Florida Hardrock 
District is currently of minor im- 
portance because no active mining has 
occurred since 1966 other than reworking 



phosphatic clay wastes from prior mining 
operations (_7 ) . A summary of the physi- 
cal characteristics of these districts is 
shown in table 2. 

The Central Land-Pebble District, the 
most important district in all the 
Southeast, has been the largest source of 
phosphate in the world for many years. 
It includes Polk and Hillsborough coun- 
ties, where 18 producing mines and 13 
nonproducing deposits were evaluated. In 
recent years there has been much activity 
towards extending this district south 
(the southern extension) to include 
phosphate resources in DeSoto, Hardee, 
Manatee, and Sarasota counties. Of the 
27 deposits in the southern extension 
evaluated in this study, only 1 is cur- 
rently producing (although another is 
developing). Only the portions of the 
deposits considered minable with current 
technology were evaluated, although the 
other resources not considered recovere- 
able with current technology (par- 
ticularly high MgO resources) were 
quantified. 

In the Central Land-Pebble District, 
the Bone Valley Formation of Upper Mio- 
cene age and the leached surficial part 
of the Hawthorn Formation are mined. The 
Bone Valley Formation changes facies to 
the south and contains little or no phos- 
phate in the southern extension, and only 
the upper clastic unit of the Hawthorn 
Formation is minable in that area. 



TABLE 2. - Deposit characteristics of Southeastern U.S. phosphate districts (20) 





Central 


Southern 


Florida 


North 


East 


Pungo River 




Florida 
Land-Pebble 


Florida 
Extension 


Hardrock 


Florida- 
Georgia 


Florida 
Coast 


Phosphorite, 
North Carolina 


Overburden 














thickness. . .m. . 


6-9 


6-12 


3-8 


6-15 


15-46 


27-40 


Ore zone 














thickness. . .m. . 


5-8 


5-11 


2-9 


3-8 


2-15 


12-15 


Pebble product 

pet.. 


20-60 


10-25 


60-100 


10-20 





NA 


P2O5 product 

pet. . 


31-33 


30-31 


30-35 


30-33 


28-30 


30-31 


MgO product 

pet. . 


0.5 


0.8 


NA 


0.75 


0.9-2.0 


0.5 



NA Not available, 



13 



LEGEND 
Phosphorite deposit 




IN- 

1 



-^-'-Pungo River phosphorite 
district 



South Carolina district 
Ridgeland basin phosphorite 
district 



Georgia-Florida district 



Land-pebble district 







100 200 mi 

T--H H 

100 200 300 km 



FIGURE 6. - Southeastern U.S. phosphate districts. (Modified from reference 4.) 



14 



The deposits in the Central Land-Pebble 
District have ore zones ranging from 5 to 

8 m thick, with an overburden of 6 to 

9 m. In the southern extension deposits, 
the ore zones are 5 to 11 m thick, and 
the overburden is 6 to 12 m thick. In 
both the central and southern extension 
areas, the overburden-to-ore ratio is 
less than 2:1. Farther south, the over- 
burden and ore zones become progressively 
thicker until at some point the total 
depth is too great for mining by current 
technology. 

The percentage of pebble in product for 
Central Land-Pebble District deposits is 
20 to 60 pet, whereas the deposits in the 
southern extension average considerably 
less (10 to 25 pet), and the pebble frac- 
tion in the southern deposits contains 
high amounts of calcite and dolomite (the 
magnesium-bearing mineral). The average 
P2O5 content of the product is 31 to 33 
pet in the Central District but 30 to 31 
pet in the south. The iron-aluminum 
oxide percentage in the product in both 
areas is within acceptable limits (less 
than 3.5 pet). 

The hardrock deposits of Florida lie 
along the east limb of the Oeala Uplift 
or Arch. Although they had been produc- 
ing since about 1900, there has been no 
significant mining activity since the 
mid-1960' s. The irregularly sized depos- 
its occur as small pods in this 
northwest-southeast-trending district. 
The deposits are complex in origin. They 
were derived from the Hawthorn Formation 
and are in rocks of post-Hawthorn age in 
the so-called Alachua Formation, which 
includes rocks of Upper Miocene, Plio- 
cene, Pleistocene, and Holocene age. Ore 
thickness in the deposits ranges from 2 
to 9 m; overburden ranges from 3 to 8 m 
(approximately a 1:1 overburden-to-ore 
ratio). The percentage of coarse rock 
(pebble, lump rock, plate rock, etc.) in 
the ore is very high, ranging from 60 to 
100 pet; the P2O5 content of the product 
is also high, ranging from 33 to 35 pet. 
Although the percentage of magnesium 
oxide is minor, the iron and alumi- 
num content can be considerable. The 



Hardrock District includes deposits in 
Citrus, Lafayette, and Marion Counties. 
This evaluation included five deposits, 
one of which is presently processing 
phosphatic clay wastes from prior mining 
operations (7). 

The North Florida deposits occur in 
Alachua, Bradford, Baker, Clay, Columbia, 
and Hamilton Counties. This evaluation 
includes eight deposits from four of 
these counties; the only two producing 
mines are in Hamilton County. The east 
coast deposits (of which only one, in 
Brevard County, was evaluated) are in- 
eluded here for discussion purposes. The 
North Florida deposits are in the Haw- 
thorn Formation and an unnamed upper Mio- 
cene formation equivalent in age to the 
Bone Valley Formation. The minable por- 
tion includes the upper part of the Haw- 
thorn Formation and the Upper Miocene 
strata. Ore thickness ranges from 3 to 
8 m (2 to 15 m on the east coast), and 
overburden from 6 to 15m (15 to 46mon 
the east coast); thus the overburden- 
to-ore ratio is 2:1 in the north and 3:1 
in the east. The pebble fraction of the 
product ranges from 10 to 20 pet in the 
north, but is almost nil on the east 
coast. The P2O5 content of the product 
averages 30 pet; the northern deposits 
may be as high as 33 pet and the eastern 
deposits as low as 28 pet. The percent 
magnesium oxide in the product is within 
the acceptable limit of less than 1 pet 
for the northern deposits, although some 
of the material on the east coast is very 
high in magnesium oxide, reflecting a 
somewhat higher content of dolomite. The 
east coast material would be difficult to 
beneficiate under present technological 
constraints. 

Two deposits in North Carolina were 
evaluated: Lee Creek is a producer, and 
the North Carolina Phosphate Deposit is 
under development. Both deposits are in 
Beaufort County within the Pungo River 
Phosphorite District and occur in the 
Middle Miocene Pungo River Formation, 
equivalent in age to the Hawthorn Forma- 
tion of Florida. The ore zone ranges 
from 12 to 15 m thick with 27 to 40 m of 



15 



overburden (overburden-to-ore ratio is 
more than 2:1). The small percentage of 
pebble is rejected from the product be- 
cause of contamination from shell mate- 
rial and dolomite. The product, nearly 
all derived from phosphatic sands, has a 
grade of approximately 30 pet P2^5* ^^^ 
iron and aluminum oxide content is ap- 
proximately 2 pet, and the magnesium 
oxide content is approximately 0.5 pet, 
both well within acceptable limits. 

TENNESSEE 

Phosphate has been produced from depos- 
its in Tennessee since 1900, although 
most deposits are nearly mined out. The 
three types of phosphate deposits in the 
State are the so-called brown rock, blue 
rock, and white rock. The only deposits 
considered for this study are the brown- 
rock type (the other types being insig- 
nificant or uneconomic); these occur 
mainly as "blanket deposits" derived from 
phosphatic limestones of Ordovician age. 
The deposits are residual, formed in the 
modern weathering cycle by acid leaching 
of the marine phosphatic limestones. The 
phosphate mineral in these deposits, a 
carbonate fluorapatite, occurs as sand- 
sized grains intermixed with clays 
(called muck) or as higher grade plates 
(called lump rock) (22). Overburden for 
these deposits averages 4 m in thickness, 
and the ore zones average 2m in thick- 
ness, (a 2:1 overburden-to-ore ratio). 
The phosphate ore grade ranges from 17 to 
23 pet P2^5 ' whereas the benef iciated 
rock product grade ranges from 26 to 29 
pet P205* All the deposits studied are 
centered around Maury County in the cen- 
tral portion of the State (fig. 7) (22). 

Most of the mines in Tennessee are very 
small, ranging from 150,000 to 1.2 mil- 
lion tons of production per year. Many 
separate deposits are mined concurrently 
to fulfill a company's production re- 
quirements. For this study, many of 
these deposits have been grouped, by com- 
pany, into individual evaluations. 




25 



50 mi 



40 



80 km 



MAP LOCATION 
FIGURE 7. - Location of Tennessee phosphate deposits. 

THE WEST 

The phosphate deposits of the Western 
United States are located in Idaho, Mon- 
tana, Utah, and Wyoming, with most of the 
present mining activity occurring in 
Idaho (fig. 8) (10) . The western depos- 
its occur in the Permian Phosphoria For- 
mation, with the phosphate rock composed 
primarily of carbonate fluorapatite pel- 
lets but also occurring in oolitic, piso- 
litic, nodular, and bioclastic forms. 

These deposits were apparently formed 
by cold, phosphorus-rich marine water 
upwelling into a large trough-platform 
environment adjacent to a continental 
margin. Phosphate-rich beds appear to 
reach their maximum thickness at the 
trough-platform boundary. 

The Phosphoria Formation consists of 
phosphorite, chert, limestone, mudstone, 
shale, and siltstone. Phosphate is mined 



16 



LEGEND 
^ Active mines 
•^^ Phosphoria outcrop 




/ 



/ 



Idaho Falls >^ . *; .^ ^' ., . 

\o >\\\VLeefe \ Lander 

Soda Springs •t'/| \.j 



\ 




FIGURE 8. 



100 200 km 

Location of Western U.S. phosphate deposits, (Modified from reference 10. 



17 



principally from the Mead Peak Member, 
primarily from its upper and lower zones. 
These two ore zones range in thickness 
from 9 to 18 m, and the middle waste 
rocks (mainly muds tones and carbonates) 
are typically 30 m thick. Overburden at 
these deposits, averaging only 5 to 10 m, 
consists of loose, unconsolidated sedi- 
ments. The upper phosphate zone tends to 
be high in phosphate content because of 
surface-rock weathering that leached out 
much of the carbonate. The zone averages 
5 to 8 m in thickness, and phosphate con- 
tent ranges from 20 to 24 pet P2O5. The 
lower zone is much thicker, ranging in 
thickness from 9 to 12 m; its phosphate 
content ranges from 20 to 30 pet P2^5> 
increasing in value in the lower portions 
of the zone. 



The phosphate deposits of the Phos- 
phoria Formation are altered at the sur- 
face. The altered rocks have been suf- 
ficiently weathered to remove much of the 
aluminum, calcium, iron, and magnesium, 
resulting in lower grades for the dele- 
terious materials and higher P2O5 grades. 
These are the rocks that are currently 
being mined. The unaltered rocks have 
not been weathered and occur as much as 
500 m below the surface (5). These rocks 
are not presently being mined because of 
their depth and because of the difficulty 
in processing them owing to the high 
amounts of impurities (CaC03, MgO, Fe, 
etc. ) that they contain. For these rea- 
sons, the unaltered resources are not 
included in this study. 



DOMESTIC PHOSPHATE RESOURCES 



Of the 130 mines and deposits evaluated 
for this study, 71 are in Florida, 2 in 
North Carolina, 5 in Tennessee, 8 in 
Idaho, 1 in Montana, 17 in Utah, and 26 
in Wyoming. Fifty-six pet of these de- 
posits are in Florida and North Carolina 
and contain over 82 pet of the in situ 
ore and 60 pet of the recoverable phos- 
phate rock from demonstrated resources in 
the United States. Total domestic re- 
sources of phosphate ore from all the 
deposits evaluated at the demonstrated 
level are 28.2 billion tons containing 
6.4 billion tons of recoverable phosphate 
rock. Following is a discussion of do- 
mestic phosphate resources, by region. 

THE SOUTHEAST 

As of January 1981, at the demonstrated 
resource level, almost 4 billion tons of 
phosphate rock was potentially recover- 
able from the southeastern deposits eval- 
uated (table 3). The deposits in the 
Central Land-Pebble District, where most 
mining occurs, account for less than 20 
pet of this resource whereas the deposits 
in the southern extension contain almost 
40 pet. Figure 9 shows the approxi- 
mate coverage of deposits evaluated for 
this study in the Central Land-Pebble 
District, including the southern exten- 
sion. The shaded area includes all the 



demonstrated resources considered min- 
able. The remainder of the resources 
within the area were classified as in- 
ferred or hypothetical. Much of this 
material is presently considered to be 
unacceptably high in magnesium oxide or 
is considered unminable with present 
technology. As shown in table 4, there 
is an estimated 5.9 billion tons of re- 
coverable phosphate rock in the Southeast 
at the inferred resource level and an 
additional 14.3 billion tons at the hypo- 
thetical level. 

A major difference between the deposits 
in the Central Land-Pebble District and 
those in the southern extension is the 
amount of magnesium oxide in the product. 
During phosphoric acid production, the 
different carbonate minerals consume sul- 
furic acid; increased amounts of magne- 
sium oxide in the phosphate rock feed 
increase this sulfuric acid consumption, 
and MgSO^ does not precipitate as does 
CaS04. Higher magnesium oxide content 
also increases the viscosity of the acid 
and causes problems in producing diam- 
monium phosphate. Florida phosphate rock 
has traditionally contained acceptable 
quantities of magnesium oxide; however, 
much of the phosphate resource potential 
from Florida (particularly the southern 
extension) occurs in deposits containing 



18 



TABLE 3. - Summary of Southeastern U.S. demonstrated phosphate resources 

(Quantities in million metric tons; all grades 
weighted-average percent P2O5) 



District and county 


In situ 
ore tonnage 


Extractable 
ore grade 


Recoverable 
rock product 


Rock 
product 
grade 


Central Florida Land- Pebble District: 

Hillsborough. 

Polk 


900 
2,519 


7.5 
8.0 


150 
500 


33.1 
31.6 


Total or weight— average. ........ 


3,419 


7.9 


650 


32.0 






Southern Florida extension: 

Hardee 


4,710 
6,383 
1,175 


5.8 
4.7 
4.9 


599 
692 
145 


30.9 


Manatee ............................ 


30.4 


Others 1 


30.2 


Total or weight— average. 


12,268 

W 


5.2 

W 


1,436 
W 


30.6 


Florida Hardrock District: 

All counties^ 


W 






Northern and East-Coast Florida 
Districts: 
Columbia. ....•.•...••••............ 


1,478 
2,635 


4.5 
5.4 


148 
323 


30.0 


Others^ 


30.0 




4,113 

W 

3,488 


5.1 

W 
NAp 


471 

W 

1,322 


30.0 


Pungo River, N.C. District 


W 


Other 


NAp 




Grand total or weight-average... 


23,288 


7.0 


3,879 


30.8 



NA Not applicable since these deposits are in different districts of the southeast; 

therefore, weight average grades would not be relevant. 
W Withheld to avoid disclosing individual company confidential data; included as 

other. 
1 1ncludes De Soto and Sarasota Counties. 
^Includes Citrus, Lafayette, and Marion Counties. 
^Includes Alachua, Bradford, Brevard, and Hamilton Counties. 

TABLE 4. - Additional phosphate resources. Southeastern United States 
(Million metric tons of recoverable phosphate rock) ' 




Georgia 

South Carolina 

Florida 

North Carolina 

Tota l 

^Does^ not include recently discovered resources offshore (Savannah River, Blake 
Plateau, and Onslow Bay), which may potentially contain miany billions of tons of re- 
coverable phosphate rock. 

^Tonnages shown for Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are derived from 
the Zellars-Williams report on these States (21). Florida resources are based on the 
inferred resource estimates directly from the individual deposits studied plus any 
additional high and low-MgO resources in deposits not included in the study. 

^Based on communications with James Cathcart of the U.S. Geological Survey. 



19 



-N- 



5 
I I I I 



1^ 

10 



10 

_1_ 



"T" 
20 



20 mi 

J 



30 km 



PASCO 



SUMTER 



LAKE I 1_ 



POLK 



ORANGE 



OSCEOLA 



HILLSBOROUGH 





POLK 



HARDEE 



HIGHLANDS 



HARDEE 



DE SOTO 



CHARLOTTE 



GLADES 



FIGURE 9. - Area coverage in the Central Land-Pebble District (including the southern ex- 
tension), Florida. (Shaded area includes all demonstrated resources for this district consid- 
ered for this evaluation.) 



20 



quantities of magnesium oxide that are 
currently considered unacceptable (more 
than 1,0 pet). Research is underway to 
solve this problem by developing methods 
for benef iciating high-magnesium phos- 
phate to within acceptable limits (1.0 
pet or lower). The Bureau of Mines re- 
search center in Tuscaloosa, Ala. , is 
working on this problem and has recently 
published a report dealing with this 
issue (8). Numerous phosphate compan- 
ies — including International Minerals and 
Chemical Corp. (IMC), W. R. Grace, Gar- 
dinier, and the TVA National Fertilizer 
Development Center — are also working to 
solve the magnesium oxide problem. Some 
of the processes being developed include 
the use of heavy-media separation tech- 
niques and improved flotation techniques 
to remove dolomite (which contains most 
of the magnesium oxide) from the phos- 
phate ore. 

Phosphate resources containing more 
than 1.0 pet magnesium oxide were not 
included (or costed) for the analysis. 
At the identified resource level, an 
estimated 2 billion tons or more of re- 
coverable phosphate rock exists in high- 
magnesium-oxide deposits in Florida with 
most of the tonnage classified as in- 
ferred. This estimate is very conserva- 
tive since most of these deposits have 
not been sufficiently drilled. High- 
magnesium-oxide resources are mainly in 
the counties of De Soto (approximately 
one-third of the total) and Hardee 
(approximately one-third), with the bal- 
ance in Manatee and other counties. The 
development of new technologies for pro- 
cessing high-magnesium-oxide phosphate 
will significantly increase Florida phos- 
phate reserves, although at an increased 
cost. It has been suggested that these 
new technologies would add between $3 and 
$6 per ton of product, although these 
figures are unconfirmed. 

The future resource potential for Flor- 
ida is almost entirely in the Hawthorn 
Formation (including the southern exten- 
sion and high-magnesium-oxide deposits). 
Figure 10 is an isopach map showing the 
thickness of the overburden overlying the 
Hawthorn Formation. Figure 11 shows the 



thicknesses of the formation itself, in- 
cluding the location of test cuttings 
from well holes used to evaluate the 
location and thickness of the formation 
and overlying sediments. These maps give 
clear indication of the vast extent of 
the Hawthorn Formation and its thickness, 
and the tremendous amounts of phosphate 
in Florida, particularly in the southern 
part of the State. Although at present 
much of this material is considered tech- 
nologically unminable or highly uneco- 
nomical to mine, this great resource 
potential does exist. 

TENNESSEE 

Like the rest of the domestic deposits 
evaluated, resources for Tennessee are at 
the demonstrated resource level and have 
been updated to January 1981. A total of 
28.5 million tons of phosphate rock is 
potentially recoverable from a resource 
of 61.3 millin tons of phosphate ore, 
with most of this potential from produc- 
ing mines. The individual ore bodies in 
Tennessee are well defined; any undis- 
covered deposits of brown rock in the 
region would most likely be quite small. 

THE WEST 

The values for proposed or developing 
deposits in Idaho are based on resource 
information in the recent Caribou Na- 
tional Forest Phosphate Environmental 
Impact Statement (18); Bureau personnel 
developed the resource values and evalu- 
ated the explored deposits in Utah and 
Wyoming. The demonstrated resources of 
the Western United States as of January 
1981 are listed in table 5. There are 
approximately 4.9 billion tons of phos- 
phate material in the western deposits 
evaluated for this study, containing 
about 2.5 billion tons of recoverable 
phosphated rock. In Idaho and Montana, 
where mining occurs in some of the higher 
grade rock, deposits contain just over 10 
pet of all the potentially recoverable 
phosphate rock from the western area. 
Wyoming alone contains over half the 
potentially recoverable phosphate rock in 
the West. 



21 



TABLE 5. - Summary of Western U.S. demonstrated phosphate resources 
(Quantities in million metric tons; all grades weighted-average percent P2O5) 



State 


In situ 
ore tonnage 


In situ 
grade 


Recoverable 
rock product 


Rock product 
grade 


Idaho and Montana ^ 


352 
1,882 
2,658 


25.6 
20.1 
21.5 


237 

930 

1,305 


31.0 


Utah 


27.9 


Wyoming 


27.7 


Total or weight-average 


4,892 


21.3 


2,472 


28.1 



'Montana was included here to avoid disclosing individual company confidential data 



|50- 



Jacksonville 



> 



LEGEND 

Shaded area represents 
location of Hawthorn 
Formation 

Overburden contour, 
50- ft interval 




50 

_i I 1 I I 



100 

1_ 



150 m 

_l 



200 km 






FIGURE 10. - Isopach map of the overburden overlying the Hawthorn Formation in Florida. 
(Modified from data supplied by IMC Corp.) 



O 
o 



22 



Jacksonville 



aoO' 



LEGEND 

Well site 

Structure contour, 
200-ft interval 







o 
o 



"^00 



50 

I I 



100 

L_ 



150 mi 

_J 



200 km 



FIGURE n. 
by IMC Corp.) 



^-^o^'.^ 



Isopach map of the Hawthorn Formation in Florida. (Modified from data supplied 



Not costed for this study is more than 
1 billion additional tons of recoverable 
phosphate rock in these four States at 
the inferred resource level (most of 
which is of the unaltered type). In 
addition to these inferred resources are 



an estimated 10 billion tons of recover- 
able rock above adit-entry level at the 
hypothetical resource level and below 
adit-entry level as much as 100 billion 
tons to a depth of 2,000 m and ^ almost 300 
billion more below 2,000 m (5). 



23 



DOMESTIC PHOSPHATE MINING AND BENEFICIATION METHODS 



Strip mining is the most common method 
of mining phosphate ore in Florida. In 
this operation, a dragline digs a series 
of parallel cuts and casts the overburden 
into previously mined cuts, A dragline 
then mines the exposed ore (matrix) and 
transfers it to an aboveground slurry pit 
from which it is pumped to the washer 
plant. An estimated 85 pet of the ore is 
physically recovered from the cut. 

In North Carolina and parts of Florida, 
dredges are used. In the Florida 



operation, a dredge excavates overburden 
and the spoil is pumped through pipelines 
to land reclamation areas behind the min- 
ing operation. Another dredge follows, 
and the exposed ore is removed and hy- 
draulically transported through pipelines 
and booster pumps to the washer plant 
(mill). In North Carolina only the upper 
portion of overburden is removed by a 
dredge. The ore and lower portions of 
overburden are removed by draglines. In 
dredging operations, the mine recoveries 
generally range from 80 to 90 pet. 



Slurried phosphate ore 



MINING 
AREA 




WASHER 



Ground water. 



WATER 
RESERVOIR 



Overflow 



Return water 



Pebble 



Clay waste 



Flotation feed 



FLOTATION 



STORAGE 
% 



Concentrated phosphate 



DRYING 



Sand tailings 

Clear decanted water 



WASTE 

STORAGE 

AREA 



SHIPPING 



WASTE 

STORAGE 

AREA 



FIGURE 12. - Typical process flowsheet, Southeastern United States. 



24 



An average sized phosphate mine in the 
Southeast treats about 9 million tons of 
ore per year, producing approximately 2 
million tons of phosphate rock. In the 
Southeast, phosphate ore is beneficiated 
through a series of washing, sizing, and 
flotation circuits which separate phos- 
phate pellets from clay and quartz. The 
pebble portion of the ore is screened out 
during the washing stage. The processing 
stages of a typical southeastern phos- 
phate benef iciation plant are shown in 
figure 12. Phosphate recovery from these 
plants is typically 80 to 90 pet. The 
product from a plant of this type is 
phosphate rock suitable for phosphoric 
acid production. 



typically recovers 60 to 75 pet of the 
phosphate rock. The ore is slurried and 
then passes through a series of washers, 
scrubbers, screens, and cyclones to pro- 
duce a silt and sand-sized rock product. 
Nearly all the phosphate rock product 
from the washer plants is used as elec- 
tric furnace feed for production of ele- 
mental phosphorus, which is used in the 
chemical industry. 

The average phosphate operation in 
Tennessee (which includes production from 
a number of individual mines) has a 
capacity of approximately 1 million tons 
of ore treated per year, yielding 600,000 
tons of phosphate rock. 



The Bureau of Mines, in conjunction 
with a Florida phosphate producer, is 
experimenting with the borehole mining 
method to recover the deep, untapped 
phosphate resources of Florida, par- 
ticularly in the northeastern part of the 
State. In this method, the deep phos- 
phate ore is mined through a borehole 
using a water-jet cutting system in which 
the ore is slurried and pumped to the 
surface. This method, although still in 
the research stage, could make available 
additional resources of phosphate rock. 

Tennessee phosphate ore is also mined 
with draglines, although the draglines 
used are much smaller than those used 
Florida. Draglines used in Tennessee 
must be small enough to remove the ore 
from narrow crevices and mobile enough to 
be moved easily and quickly from one mine 
site to another. In a typical operation, 
a bulldozer clears topsoil and removes 
the clay overburden. A dragline then 
removes the ore from a pit, typically 
attaining an 80-pct mining recovery; a 
bulldozer then backfills mined-out areas 
with spoil. The ore is transported by 
truck, or rail for longer hauls, to a 
field washer or a washer at the chemical 
plant. 

The basic benef iciation process in- 
cludes only a washer plant, which 



Open pit mining methods predominate in 
the Western U.S. phosphate mines, al- 
though there is one underground operation 
(Cominco American's Warm Springs mine at 
Garrison, Mont.). There are four produc- 
ing open pit mines in Idaho and one in 
Utah. In the open pit operations, top- 
soil, if present, is removed and stock- 
piled for later reclamation. Cherty 
overburden is drilled, blasted, and 
loaded by electric shovels into haulage 
trucks for placement into mined-out 
pits or on dumps. Waste shales, when 
stockpiled, are ripped or lightly 
blasted, then stripped by scrapers and 
push-dozers, with most of the waste going 
to stockpiles. The ore is mined by 
hydraulic shovels and hauled by trucks to 
a stockpile area for eventual benefici- 
ation. At the underground mine in Garri- 
son, Mont. , ore is extracted by a modi- 
fied room-and-pillar method with overhand 
open stopes. 

The average phosphate mine in the West 
treats around 1,3 million tons of ore per 
year. The average amount of product re- 
covered from a mine this size is just 
under 900,000 tons of phosphate rock. 

Most Western U,S, phosphate ore is ben- 
eficiated by crushing, washing, classify- 
ing, and then drying (fig, 13) , with 
a typical recovery of 65 to 85 pet; 



25 



WASTE 



->- To waste dumps 
at mine site 



o 

is 

M 

12: 

M 



2 

O 
M 

< 
M 
U 
H 
P4 

!z: 
pq 



LOW-GRADE SHALES 



-1 ^ To stockpiles 

I at mine site 
I 



MEDIUM-GRADE ORE 



HIGH-GRADE ORE 



STOCKPILE 



CRUSHING 
1/A in 



STOCKPILE 



CALCINING 

I 



i jj ELECTRIC FURNACE j 

t I FEED I 



J 



STOCKPILE 



CRUSHING - 
1/A In 

WASHING 

CLASSIFYING - 
plus 325 mesh 

DRYING 



STOCKPILE 





GRINDING 






\ 


1 




CHEMICAL PLANT FEED 



Tailings (minus 325 mesh) 
to ponds at mill site 



FIGURE 13. - Typical process flowsheet. Western United States. 



26 



however, the Vernal Mine in Utah also 
uses flotation. The product is typically 
calcined to remove carbonaceous materials 
and then sent to a chemical plant. 

The four grade classifications for 
western phosphate rock are acid or fer- 
tilizer grade (+31 pet P2O5), also termed 
high grade; furnace grade (24 to 31 pet 
P2O5); benef iciation grade (18 to 24 pet 



P2O5), also termed medium grade; and low- 
grade shale (10 to 18 pet P2O5). Acid- 
grade rock is used as direct chemical 
plant feed; furnace-grade rock is used 
for electric furnace feed; benef iciation- 
grade rock is upgraded to either furnace 
or acid grade (most frequently to furnace 
grade) through the benef iciation stages 
shown on figure 13; and low-grade shales 
are stockpiled for possible future use. 



DOMESTIC PHOSPHATE COSTS 



Phosphate deposits in the Western 
United States were costed using various 
cost methodologies such as scaling tech- 
niques (from both current operations or 
models); the MAS Cost Estimating System 
(CES), a computerized version of the 
Bureau of Mines capital and operating 
cost manual (15); and actual reported 
company costs. Costs for producing mines 
and nonproducing deposits in Florida, 
North Carolina, and Tennessee are from 
cost models which Zellars-Williams , Inc., 
developed under contract (20) . The cost 
models are calibrated by confidential 
cost information from companies active 
in the phosphate industry. To protect 
the confidentiality of the cost data 
obtained, contributing operations were 
grouped into different cases according to 
size, age, reserve characteristics, and 
production cost criteria. A production 
cost for a "typical" mine representative 
of each case was calculated by averaging 
actual or estimated costs for the mines 
so grouped. These cost models were up- 
dated and modified by Bureau of Mines 
personnel for site-specific situations, 
such as matrix X, the number of drag- 
lines, pebble content, etc. The six cost 
models Zellars-Williams, Inc., developed 
for Florida, with costs updated to Janu- 
ary 1981 dollars, are presented in 
appendix B. 

Table 6 illustrates the average operat- 
ing costs used to develop the phosphate 
availability curves for U.S. phosphate 
mines and deposits. Mine and mill oper- 
ating costs in Florida are most affected 
by electrical power costs for the drag- 
lines and washer-flotation plants, labor, 



supplies, reagents, and drying oil. In 
the West, the greatest portion of operat- 
ing costs are the actual ore extraction 
costs (often contracted out) and the cost 
for calcining. As would be expected, 
underground mines in the West are much 
more expensive than surface mines. In 
Tennessee, the two most important parts 
of these costs are in ore haulage to the 
mills by truck and in the actual ore 
extraction (both costs are contained 
within the mine operating cost). 

Royalty costs for western deposits on 
Federal land were calculated as 5 pet of 
the estimated mine-mouth value. The 
State severance tax for phosphate in 
Idaho, Montana, North Carolina, Tennes- 
see, Utah, and Wyoming is either small or 
nonexistent. Idaho and Wyoming have a 
2-pct severance tax based on the value 
after mining. Montana's 0.5-pct rate is 
also based on the value after mining. 
North Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah have 
no State severance tax for phosphate. 
Florida has a significant State severance 
tax; $1.84 per ton of rock product is the 
new rate, enacted for 1981. It is not 
based on the value after mining, as it 
had been in the past; rather, it is 
strictly the rate times the units recov- 
ered. Each year this rate will be up- 
dated based on producer-price indexes. 
The State severance tax is included in 
the column labeled "Other" on table 6, 
along with the property. State, and Fed- 
eral tax plus any royalty. These costs 
are greater for nonproducers because in 
most cases the overall total costs and 
revenues necessary to cover them are 
greater. 



27 



TABLE 6. - Operating costs for domestic phosphate operations 

(All costs are expressed as January 1981 dollars per metric ton of product 

on a weight-averaged basis) 













Average 


Transportation to 




Mine 


Mill 


Other 1 


Total 


total cost 
(f.o.b. mill) 


plant or port2 


Florida: 














Producers 


$9.20 


$11.10 


$2.60 


$22.90 


$27.80 


$4.30 


Nonproducers 


10.00 


14.10 


7.60 


31.70 


46.00 


5.00 


North Carolina 


W 


W 


W 


W 


W 


W 


Tennessee: 














Producers 


12.90 


2.70 


.40 


16.00 


17.30 


1.40 


Nonproducers 


W 


W 


W 


W 


W 


W 


Idaho: 














Producers 


10.00 


15.50 


3.10 


28.60 


33.90 


2.60 


Nonproducers 


18.90 


15.50 


2.30 


36.70 


43.60 


2.40 


Montana 


W 


W 


W 


W 


W 


W 


Utah: 




Producers 


W 


W 


W 


W 


W 


W 


Nonproducers: 














Surface 


15.90 


13.70 


8.60 


38.20 


53.50 


12.80 


Underground. . . . 


31.40 


39.00 


7.70 


78.10 


94.30 


14.70 


Wyoming: 














Nonproducers: 














Surface 


21.70 


12.40 


6.70 


40.80 


58.80 


8.50 


Underground. . . . 


46.90 


28.30 


15.30 


90.50 


125.30 


10.60 



W Withheld to avoid disclosing individual deposit confidential information. 

^Includes all property, State, Federal, and severance taxes plus any royalty. 

^Transportation to ports in Florida and to acid or elemental plants in the West 
(Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana) and Tennessee. These transportation costs pri- 
marily represent the cost of rail transport only. 



Although not included in the individual 
property analyses, transportation costs 
are also listed on table 6. In Florida 
these represent the rail costs to the 
ports of Tampa and Jacksonville. If the 
rock product is actually being sent to a 
nearby acid plant, the costs will most 
likely be less. In the West, costs shown 
on the table are the costs of transporta- 
tion to local acid or elemental plants. 
Since most of these plants are in Idaho, 
distances are shorter in that State than 
for deposits in Utah and Wyoming, which 
for the purposes of this study, send 
their rock to plants in Idaho. 



Table 7 shows the average capital costs 
estimated for this study to develop the 
nonproducing deposits in the United 
States at different ore capacities. 
These costs represent the costs to 
acquire, explore, develop, and equip a 
new mine site, along with the construc- 
tion of any necessary mine and mill 
plants and buildings. Costs associated 
with compliance with environmental regu- 
lations and permitting are included to 
the extent known. Environmental con- 
straints to development are discussed in 
appendix C. Capital costs for a new mine 
in Tennessee are not shown since there is 



28 



TABLE 7. - Estimated capital costs to develop nonproducing phosphate deposits 
in the United States 





Thousand metric tons 


Millions of January 1981 dollars 








Exploration, 


Mine 


Mill 


Total 


Cost per 


Cost per 




Ore per 


Product per 


acquisition. 


capi- 


capi- 


capi- 


annual 


annual 




year 


year 


and 
development 


tal 


tal 


tal 


ton ore 


ton 
product 


Southeast 


2,500 


450 


9.6 


8.9 


21.3 


39.8 


15.90 


88.40 




5,600 


1,000 


32.2 


16.1 


38.3 


86.6 


15.50 


86.60 




15,600 


2,400 


74.6 


34.5 


71.4 


180.5 


11.60 


75.20 


West: 


















Surface 


1,100 


800 


3.7 


10.2 


58.7 


72.6 


66.00 


90.80 


Underground. 


1,200 


700 


17.8 


15.9 


73.0 


106.7 


88.90 


152.40 



only one Tennessee nonproducing deposit 
in this evaluation and the costs would be 
considered confidential. In 1977 a 
developing operation in Tennessee that 
could produce approximately 1 million 



tons per year of product (from a number 
of small mines) would have cost approxi- 
mately $10 million for mine and washer 
facilities (2). 



I 



COMPARISON OF SOUTHEASTERN AND WESTERN RESOURCES 



As shown in the geology section, the in 
situ and feed grades in the West are con- 
siderably higher than those in the South- 
east. The western deposits start at over 
20 pet P2O5 on the average, whereas the 
southeastern deposits average under 10 
pet P2O5. Both areas upgrade to approxi- 
mately 30 pet P2O5 (slightly greater in 
the Southeast); i.e., more upgrading is 
necessary for the deposits in the South- 
east that for those in the West. Pro- 
cessing costs in the West, however, are 
equal to or greater than those in the 
Southeast because of calcining costs, 
which tend to be high because of their 
added energy requirements. 

Although mine recoveries in the West 
are slightly higher than those in the 
Southeast, and mill recoveries are very 
similar, total operating costs in the 
West are higher than those in the South- 
east, largely because of the 
operating costs. Mining 
greater in the West because 
amounts of overburden, the 
blasting required, and the 



of the operations 
nomies of scale). 



higher mine 
costs are 
of larger 
amount of 
smaller size 
(providing less eco- 



One of the more significant differences 
between the western and southeastern 
deposits is in transportation costs. 
Table 6 shows the costs to transport 
phosphate rock to ports in Florida and 
North Carolina (since these are the ports 
of departure for exports) and to local 
acid plants and elemental plants in the 
West and Tennessee (since virtually all 
of this material is consumed internally). 
In Florida transporting phosphate rock to 
the appropriate ports costs just over $4 
per ton; transporting a ton of phosphate 
rock to local plants in Idaho costs 
about $2.50, and it could cost about 
$13.50 to ship rock from Utah to exist- 
ing plants in Idaho. If rock from Wyom- 
ing were sent to plants in Idaho, it 
would cost about $9.50 per ton. The 
transportation costs for deposits in Utah 
and Wyoming are high because most of 
the processing plants are presently 
in Idaho, which is the assumed desti- 
nation for their production. Quite 
likely, however, processing plants will 
be built in Utah and Wyoming if a large 
phosphate mining industry is established 
in those States. Once at the plants, the 
western rock must still be processed and 



29 



transported, thus Incurring additional 
costs before reaching a market. Since 
the major domestic rock and acid markets 
are in the East and Midwest, the south- 
eastern deposits clearly have a cost 
advantage over those in the West, The 
transport distances are shorter; barges 
can be used instead of rail, which would 
lower costs; and the access routes 
(mainly the Mississippi River) are more 
direct to the domestic agricultural mar- 
kets in addition to the export markets. 
Western phosphate, however, has a natural 
market in the agricultural industries of 
the Western States. 



The above factors provide a definite 
economic advantage to the southeastern 
deposits over the western deposits to 
supply most of the domestic and export 
markets. Southeastern deposits will not 
lose this advantage in the foreseeable 
future. 

As described in the resource section, 
over 60 pet of the demonstrated resources 
in the United States lie in the south- 
eastern deposits, although vast quanti- 
ties of phosphate in the West at the 
inferred and hypothetical levels repre- 
sent a significant future resource. 



AVAILABILITY OF DOMESTIC PHOSPHATE RESOURCES 



The potential tonnage and cost for each 
of the 130 mines and deposits evaluated 
have been aggregated onto phosphate rock 
availability curves, which illustrate the 
comparative costs associated with any 
given level of potential total output and 
provide an estimate of what the average 
phosphate rock price (in January 1981 
dollars) would likely have to be for a 
given tonnage to be potentially avail- 
able. Costs reflect not only capital and 
operating costs, but also all Federal, 
State, and local taxes an operation in- 
curs selling phosphate rock f.o.b, mill. 

TOTAL AVAILABILITY 



Figure 15 shows the total availability 
of phosphate rock from Florida and North 
Carolina deposits, where nearly two- 
thirds of all evaluated resources occur. 
Nearly 4 billion tons of phosphate rock 
is potentially recoverable from Florida 
and North Carolina from demonstrated 
resources. At costs ranging up to $30 
per ton, approximately 1 billion tons is 
potentially recoverable, 25 pet of the 
total from these two States and almost 85 
pet of the total for the United States 
potentially available at a long-run price 
of $30. At $45, potentially available 
phosphate rock from Florida and North 
Carolina increases to 3 billion tons. 



Approximately 6.4 billion tons of phos- 
phate rock is potentially recoverable 
from all domestic deposits evaluated at 
the demonstrated resource level. As 
shown in figure 14, approximately 1.3 
billion tons of phosphate rock is poten- 
tially recoverable at costs ranging up to 
$30 per ton, which is only 20 pet of the 
total recoverable tonnage. Approximately 
2.4 billion additional tons of phosphate 
rock is potentially recoverable at costs 
ranging between $30 and $40 per ton. 
This means that at a long-run constant 
dollar price for phosphate rock of $45 
per ton (approximately 1.5 times the Jan- 
uary 1981 price), 3.7 billion tons of 
phsophate rock is potentially available. 
Not shown on the curve are just over 700 
million tons of phosphate rock costing 
over $100 per ton. 



Figure 16 shows the total availability 
of phosphate rock from the deposits in 
Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. 
Nearly 2.5 billion tons of phosphate rock 
is potentially recoverable from these 
deposits, although many may have a pro- 
duction cost exceeding $100 per ton and 
are therefore not represented on the 
curve. Only 300 million tons is poten- 
tially available at $30 per ton, increas- 
ing 400 million tons at $45 per ton. 

Phosphate rock market prices vary sig- 
nificantly depending on the product 
grade. The three curves in figure 17 
were developed for specific product-grade 
ranges. The product-grade ranges are 
less than 30.2 pet P2O5 (low grade), 
between 30.2 and 32 pet ^2^5 (medium 
grade) , and greater than 32 pet ^2^5 



30 



c 
o 



0» 

E 

Q. 
JO 

"o 

T3 



O 
O 



g 



ICX) 
90 
80 
70 
60- 
50- 
40 



30 



20 



10 



Costs are in January 1981 dollars and include 
a 15- pet rate ot return on investnnent 



^ 



J. 



1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 

TOTAL RECOVERABLE PHOSPHATE ROCK, million metric tons 

FIGURE 14. - Phosphate rock potentially recoverable fromall domestic deposits. 





100 




90 


c 




o 




■*— 


80 


o 




w 




<D 


70 


E 




^ 




<D 


60 


Q- 




V) 




a 


50 


"o 




T3 


40 


H 




CO 

O 


30 


o 




_l 


20 


< 




1- 




o 


in 



1 1 1 1 r- 

Costs are in January 1981 dollars 
- and include a 15-pct rate of return 
on investnnent 



^ 



J. 



± 



± 



J 



± 



400 800 1,200 1,600 2,000 2,400 2,800 3,200 3,600 4,000 4,400 

TOTAL RECOVERABLE PHOSPHATE ROCK, million metric tons 

FIGURE 15. - Phosphate rock potentially recoverable from all Florida and 
North Carolina deposits. 



31 





ICXD 




90 


c 




o 




u 


80 


^ 




•»- 




a> 

E 


70 


^. 




0) 


CO 


Q. 


bU 


(O 




^ 




O 


50 


o 




■o 


40 


H 




to 

O 


30 


O 





-;! 20 
P 10 



—I 1 1 1 1 

Costs are in January 1981 dollars and include 
a 15-pct rate ot return on investment 



± 



± 



200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 

TOTAL RECOVERABLE PHOSPHATE ROCK, million metric tons 

FIGURE 16. - Phosphate rock potentially recoverable fromall western deposits. 



c 
o 



E 
a> 

Q. 

o 
o 



(/) 
O 
O 

_l 
P 



100 
90 



T 



T 



High 




Low 



I 

H 



'Medium 



r* 



± 



Costs are in January 1981 dollars and 
include a 15-pct rate ot return on 
investment 



± 



400 800 1,200 1,600 2,000 2,400 2,800 3,200 3,600 

TOTAL RECOVERABLE PHOSPHATE ROCK, million metric tons 

FIGURE 17. - Phosphate rock potentially recoverable from all domestic 
deposits, at selected grade ranges. 



32 



(high grade). The average prices for 
phosphate rock from domestic mines in 
1981 are shown in table 8 (17). Of the 
total 6.4 billion tons of recoverable 
product evaluated in this study, approxi- 
mately 40 pet is from low-grade deposits, 
50 pet from medium-grade deposits, and 10 
pet from high-grade deposits. The curves 
show that at a long-run cost of $30 per 
ton, almost 100 million tons of low-grade 
rock, more than 1 billion tons of medium- 
grade rock, and over 100 million tons of 
high-grade rock are potentially avail- 
able. At $60 per ton, approximately 1 
billion low-grade tons, 3 billion medium- 
grade tons, and 0.5 billion high-grade 
tons of rock are potentially available. 



Figure 18 shows the availability of 
phosphate rock from all domestic mines 
and deposits with separate curves for 
producers and nonproducers. The curve 
for producers shows that at costs ranging 
up to $30 per ton, almost 1.2 billion 
tons of phosphate rock is potentially 
recoverable, nearly three-quarters from 
Florida and North Carolina. At approxi- 
mately $40, total availability from these 
mines increases only to 1.3 billion tons, 
again nearly three-quarters from Florida 
and North Carolina. The curve for non- 
producers shows that at costs ranging up 
to $40 per ton, nearly 2 billion tons is 
potentially recoverable, increasing to 3 
billion at $60. Five billion tons could 



TABLE 8. - 1981 phosphate rock prices 
(Dollars per metric ton, f.o.b. mine) 



Grade, pet P2O5 



Plus 33.9 

32.95 to 33.9 

32 to 32.95 

30.2 to 32 

27.5 to 30.2 

Minus 27.5 

Average 

Plus 33.9 

32.95 to 33.9 

32 to 32.95 

30.2 to 32 

27.5 to 30.2 

Minus 27.5 

Average 

32 to 32.95 

30.2 to 32 

27.5 to 30.2 

Minus 27.5 

Average 

27.5 to 30.2 

Minus 27.5 

Average 

NAp Not applicable. 



Domestic 



Export 



Average 



United States 



$32.00 
32.81 
28.35 
23.60 
27.11 
9.20 



23.82 



$45.54 
37.93 
34.36 
31.75 
28.15 
NAp 



33.93 



$41.08 
36.13 
31.08 
24.76 
27.35 
9.20 



26.08 



Florida and North Carolina — Land Pebble 



$32.00 
32.81 
25.26 
23.57 
31.66 
14.71 



25.17 



$45.54 
37.93 
33.93 
31.29 
27.54 
NAp 



33.74 



$41.08 
36.13 
29.14 
24.61 
30.55 
14.71 



27.17 



Western States 



$35.94 

24.25 

10.46 

9.26 



18.06 



$37.08 
37.88 
35.33 

NAp 



37.09 



$37.15 

27.42 

14.93 

9.26 



21.98 



Tennessee 



$15.93 
8.75 



12.01 



NAp 
NAp 



NAp 



$15.93 
8.75 



12.01 



33 



c 
o 



E 

ex 

o 
o 



o 
u 



p 



100 
90 
80 
70 
60- 
50 
40 
30 

10- 



I I I I I I 

Costs are in January 1981 dollars and include 
a 15-pct rate of return on investment 



Nonproducing depositsj 



.: Producing mines 



J. 



X 



± 



500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 

TOTAL RECOVERABLE PHOSPHATE ROCK, million metric tons 

FIGURE 18. - Phosphate. rock potentially recoverable from producing mines and 
nonproducing deposits. 



potentially be available from all nonpro- 
ducing deposits. Approximately 60 pet of 
the total potential tonnage from nonpro- 
ducing deposits is in Florida and North 
Carolina. 

POTENTIAL ANNUAL AVAILABILITY 

Another way of illustrating phosphate 
availability is to deisaggregate the 
total resource-availability curve and 
show potential production on an annual 
basis. For analysis, separate annual- 
availability curves have been constructed 
for producing and proposed operations. 

Potential annual production of phos- 
phate from producing operations is shown 
from 1981 through 2000. The curves for 
producing operations show the production 
capacity of existing mines, including 
planned expansions when known. It was 
assumed that all operations produce at 
full (100 pet) capacity over the life of 
the mine. 



Since no definite startup data is 
available for most of the nonproducers , 
it was assumed that preproduction began 
in a base year (N) of the analysis, which 
cannot be connected with an actual year 
since production from many of these 
deposits is not expected in the near 
future. However, the annual curves for 
nonproducers do show the required lead 
times before production can begin and 
therefore are important in that they show 
the potential annual production and asso- 
ciated costs of the mines of the future. 
In these curves, all nonproducers as- 
sumedly begin preproduction development 
at the same time; consequently the ton- 
nage available in a given year is likely 
overstated since not all the nonproducers 
will begin preproduction simultaneously. 

Figure 19 illustrates potential annual 
production from domestic producing mines. 
These mines are high-grade, low-cost 
operations, mostly located in the South- 
east. The analyses indicate that a 



34 



I 

u 

I 

E 



UJ 

§ 

to 
O 

X 
Q. 

UJ 
-J 
CD 
< 
(T 
UJ 
> 
O 

o 

UJ 



70 



60 



50 



40 



30 



20 



10- 



1 1 I I 1 ; — I I 

Costs are in January 1981 dollars and 
include a 15-pctrate of return on investnrient 



\ 
\ 
\ 

. \ 



\ 
\ 
\ 



X 




""$30 



J. 



J. 



J. 



± 



± 





1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 

YEAR 

FIGURE 19. - Potential annual availability of phosphate rock from producing mines. 



1 



maximum of 49 million tons of phosphate 
was potentially available in 1981 at $30 
per ton and that 59 million tons was 
available at $42 per ton, compared with 
an actual 1981 production of 52.9 million 
tons ( 17) . Potential annual production 
from these mines (assuming full capacity) 
will begin to decline slowly until 1986, 
and then drop sharply as some mines be- 
come exhausted. However, because actual 
production since 1981 has been at less 
than full capacity, the decline of low- 
cost production will actually be delayed 
for several more years and will likely be 
more gradual than indicated on the curve. 
For production levels to be maintained, 
current capacities of the remaining mines 
may have to be expanded, and new lower 
grade deposits (some of which are already 
in developmental stages) will have to be 
brought on line. 

Figure 20 illustrates potential annual 
production for nonproducing deposits. At 



both cost ranges of up to $45 and $90 per 
ton, phosphate rock production would ini- 
tially increase dramatically as deposits 
came on line. From zero production 
in year N, output could rise in year N+4 
to 50 million tons at costs ranging 
up to $45 per ton, and to 97 million 
tons at costs ranging up to $90 per ton. 
Production would peak in the year 
N+4 and remain relatively constant with 
a slight decline in annual production by 
the year N+18. Phosphate that could 
be produced for less than $30 per ton 
from nonproducers would peak at 7 million 
tons in the year N+3 and remain 
constant through the year N+18. This 
would indicate that most of the low-cost 
phosphate comes from currently producing 
mines, which is not surprising since 
the nonproducing deposits are usually 
of lower quality and will have higher 
costs. 



35 



c 
o 



0) 

E 
c: 
o 



O 

o 
tr 

UJ 

X 
Q. 
CO 
O 

X 

a. 

UJ 

_j 

< 

UJ 
> 

O 

o 

UJ 



120 



100 



80- 



60- 



40 



20 







Costs are in January 1981 dollars and 
include a 15-pctrate of return on investment 



N 




N+2 



N+4 N+6 N+8 



N+IO 
YEAR 



N+12 N+14 N+16 N+IB N+20 



FIGURE 20. - Potential annual availability of phosphate rock from nonproducing deposits. 



CONCLUSIONS 



The agricultural industry is dependent 
upon the supply of fertilizers derived 
from phosphate rock. The adequacy of the 
future supply potential of phosphate rock 
from domestic sources has been disputed 
in recent years. In an attempt to assess 
domestic phosphate rock resources, the 
Bureau of Mines evaluated 130 domestic 
phosphate mines and deposits. The se- 
lected deposits included all resources of 
phosphate rock at the demonstrated level 
that met the criteria of this study and 
that can be mined and milled with current 
technology. 

Nearly 6.4 billion tons of phosphate 
rock is recoverable from domestic demon- 
strated resources. The southeastern 
deposits contain about 3.9 billion tons 
of recoverable phosphate rock, approxi- 
mately 60 pet of the total domestic re- 
source. The western deposits contain 
most of the remaining 2.5 billion tons of 
recoverable phosphate rock. The very 
small resources in Tennessee play only a 



minor role in the total domestic-resource 
picture. 

The 6.4 billion tons of demonstrated 
phosphate rock resources in the United 
States includes both low- and high-cost 
deposits. This study indicates that 
approximately 1.3 billion tons of phos- 
phate rock could be available at costs 
ranging up to $30 per ton, 3 billion tons 
at under $40 per ton, 3.6 billion tons at 
under $45 per ton, and 4.5 billion tons 
at under $60 per ton. The balance of 
recoverable resources comprises potential 
production from deposits that would cost 
from $60 to well over $100 per ton. 
These deposits would not likely be needed 
for many years, and their development is 
dependent upon future technological 
innovations. 

Of the total U.S. demonstrated phos- 
phate rock resource, only 20 pet is 
available from existing mines. At full- 
capacity levels, annual production from 



36 



the existing, low-cost phosphate opera- 
tions in the United States (particularly 
in Florida) will likely decline in the 
next decade. To maintain or increase 
these annual production levels, new de- 
posits will have to be developed from the 
remaining demonstrated resource, which 
accounts for approximately 80 pet of to- 
tal U.S. demonstrated resources. Based 
on the results of this study, and assum- 
ing current technology and product stan- 
dards, phosphate from these new opera- 
tions will be more expensive to produce 
than that from existing operations, re- 
quiring a price increase in real terms of 
about 50 pet above 1981 levels. 

In addition to its large demonstrated 
phosphate irock resource, the United 
States contains vast, untapped resources 
at the inferred and hypothetical levels. 
Although not individually evaluated in 
this study, these resources represent a 
significant future potential for the 
United States. It is estimated that some 
7 billion tons of potentially recoverable 
phosphate rock exists at the inferred 
level (over 80 pet of which is in the 
Southeast), and over 24 billion tons of 
potentially recoverable phosphate rock 
exists at the hypothetical level (over 60 
pet of which is also in the Southeast). 

New deposits will likely be discovered 
(particularly offshore deposits along the 
eastern seaboard) , low-grade material not 
included in this analysis could become 
economically minable, or technological 
advances could enable processing high- 
magnesium oxide material or mining deeper 



deposits. Each of these factors could 
greatly increase the amount of phosphate 
available and ensure a continued high 
level of future production from domestic 
resources. 

Of immediate interest is more than 
2 billion tons of recoverable phosphate 
rock in Florida at the identified re- 
source level that has a high content of 
magnesium oxide and is presently con- 
sidered unnacceptable by the industry 
owing to the higher benef iciation costs 
of producing an acceptable acid plant 
feed. Given the progress several phos- 
phate companies and the Bureau of Mines 
have made in improving benef iciation 
technologies to lower the grade of mag- 
nesium oxide in the phosphate rock prod- 
uct, this additional 2 billion tons of 
rock will likely become available in the 
near future. 

The U.S. phosphate industry has been 
the world leader in the output of phos- 
phate rock and related products but is 
now facing the challenges of higher pro- 
duction costs and foreign competition 
for export markets (particularly from 
North Africa and the Middle East). Al- 
though the U.S. phosphate resource poten- 
tial is virtually unlimited, this study 
suggests that total production from phos- 
phate mines now in operation will decline 
during the next decade, and new lower 
grade, higher cost mines will have to be 
developed to satisfy demand for U.S. 
phosphate rock and related products into 
the next century. 



m 



REFEEIENCES 



1. Arthur D. Little, Inc. Economic 
Impact of Environmental Regulations on 
the United States Copper Industry. Kept, 
to the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, contract 68-01-2842; January 
1978, reproduced and distributed by the 
Am. Min. Congr. , 1100 Ring Bldg. , Wash- 
ington, D.C. 

2. Blue, T. A., and R. Portillo. CEH 
Marketing Research Report, Phosphate 
Rock. Chemical Economics Handbook — SRI 
International, March 1980. 



3. Carter, R. A. An Integrated In- 
dustry — Phosphate Mining and Milling in 
Idaho. Min. Eng. , v. 30, N. 1, January 
1978, pp. 29-36. 

4. Cathcart, J. B. Phosphate in the 
Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. Paper 
in Proc. 4th Forum on Geology of Indus- 
trial Minerals (Austin, Tex. , Mar. 14-15 
1968), Bureau of Economic Geology, The 
University of Texas at Austin, December 
1968, pp. 23-34. 



37 



5. Cathcart, J. B., R. P. Sheldon, and 
R. A. Gulbrandsen. Phosphate-Rock Re- 
sources of the United States. U.S. Geol. 
Survey Circ. 888, 1983. 

6. Davidoff, R. L. Supply Analysis 
Model (SAM): A Minerals Availability 
System Methodology. BuMines IC 8820, 
1980, 45 pp. 

7. Gurr, T. M. , Geology of U.S. Phos- 
phate Deposits. Min. Eng. , v. 31, No. 6, 
June 1979, pp. 682-691. 

8. Llewellyn, T. 0., B. E. Davis, 
G. V. Sullivan, and J. P. Hansen. Bene- 
ficiation of High-Magnesium Phosphate 
From Southern Florida, BuMines RI 8609, 
1982, 16 pp. 



Fossil Fuels in the United States and 
Canada (contract JO225026) . OFR 10-78, 
December 1977, 382 pp.; also available as 
Clement, G. K. , Jr., R. L. Miller, P. A. 
Seibert, L. Avery, and H. Bennett, Capi- 
tal and Operating Cost Estimating System 
Manual for Mining and Benef iciation of 
Metallic and Nonmetallic Minerals Except 
Fossil Fuels in the United States and 
Canada. BuMines Spec. Pub. 4-81, 1981, 
149 pp. 

16. U.S. Bureau of Mines. Phosphate 
Rock. Mineral Commodity Summaries 1982, 
January 1982, pp. 112-113, 

17, , Marketable Phosphate Rock- 
February 1982, Mineral Industry Surveys, 
Apr. 14, 1982, 5 pp. 



9. Opyrchal, A. M. , and K. L. Wang. 
Economic Significance of the Flor- 
ida Phosphate Industry: An Input-Output 
(I-O) Analysis. BuMines IC 8850, 1981, 
62 pp. 



18, U,S, Department of the Interior 
and U,S, Department of Agriculture, 
Development of Phosphate Resources in the 
Southeastern Idaho, Final Environmental 
Impact Statement, v, 1, 1977, p, 1-3, 



10. Service, A. L. , and C. C. Popoff. 
An Evaluation of the Western Phosphate 
Industry and Its Resources (in Five 
Parts). 1. Introductory Review. Bu- 
Mines RI 6485, 1964, 86 pp. 

11. Smith, L. Armand Hammer and the 
Phosphate Puzzle. Fortune Magazine, 
Apr. 7, 1980, pp. 48-51. 

12. Stermole, F. J. Economic Evalua- 
tion and Investment Decision Methods. 
Investment Evaluations Corp. , Golden, 
Colo. , 1974, 449 pp. 

13. Stowasser, M. F. Phosphate Rock. 
BuMines Minerals Yearbook 1980, v. 1, 
pp. 619-637. 



14. 



Phosphate Rock. Ch. in 



Mineral Facts and Problems, 1980 Edition. 
BuMines B 671, 1981, pp. 663-682. 



19. U.S. Geological Survey. Princi- 
ples of a Resource/Reserve Classification 
for Minerals. U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 
831, 1980, 5 pp. 

20. Zellars-Williams , Inc. Evaluation 
of the Phosphate Deposits of Florida Us- 
ing the Minerals Availability System 
(contract J0377000). BuMines OFR 112-78, 
June 1978, 199 pp.; NTIS PB 286 648/ AS. 

21. . Evaluation of Phosphate 

Deposits of Georgia, North Carolina, and 
South Carolina Using the Minerals Avail- 
ability System (contract JO377000). Bu- 
Mines OFR 14-79, September 1978, 65 pp. 

22. . Evaluation of the Phos- 
phate Deposits of Tennessee Using the 
Minerals Availability System (contract 
J0377000). BuMines OFR 13-79, September 
1978, 37 pp. 



15. STRAAM Engineers, Inc. Capital 
and Operating Cost Estimating System 
Handbook — Mining and Benef iciation of 
Metallic and Nonmetallic Minerals Except 



23. 



Phosphate Rock End-Use 
Their Costs (contract 



Products and 

J077000). BuMines OFR 102-79, July 1978, 

73 pp. 



38 



APPENDIX A. —DOMESTIC PHOSPHATE DEPOSIT STATUS AND OWNERSHIP 



Property name 



Property 
status 



Owner 



FLORIDA 



Acref oot Johnson 

Big Four 

Bonny Lake Mine 

Boyette and Fishawk. 

Brooker-Dukes 

C.F. Hardee Phosphate Complex 

Christina Reserve 

Clear Springs 

Cooks Hammock #1 

Cooks Hammock #2 

David C. Turner Heirs 

Deep Creek 

Deseret Ranch 

Desoto-Manatee Reserve 

Duette Mine 

Durrance-Waters Tract 

Farmland Hardee Mine 

Farmland Hillsborough Reserve 

First Mississippi Chemical Tract... 

Fort Green Mine. 

Fort Meade Mine #1 

Fort Meade Mine #2 

Four Corners 

Fridovich 

Hard Rock Deposit 

Hard Rock Colloidal Clay 

Hardee Mine 

Hardee West Prospect 

Hardrock Deposit 

Haynesworth Mine 

Hillsborough Co. -Farmland Brewster. 

Hookers Prairie 

Hopewell Mine 

Hunt Brothers Ranch 

Keys Property 

Kingsf ord Mine 

La Crosse Deposit 

Little Payne Creek 

Lonesome Mine. 

Manatee North 

Manatee South 

Manson- Jenkins 

Mobil Area 

N.E. Manatee Swift-Grace 

Nichols Mine 

No . Columbia County #2 

Noralyn-Phosphoria 

North Lake City Deposit 

Northeast Manatee-Texaco 

Osceola National Forest 

Payne Creek-Palmetto 

Pierce-Pebbledale 

Pine Level Deposit 

Polk County Mine 

Rockland Mine. 



Rutland-Corvin-Vale. . . . 
Saddle Creek-Ebersbach. 

Silver City Mine 

South Fort Meade 

South Hardee 

Stanaland Ranch 

Suwannee River Mine.... 

Swift Creek Mine 

Swif t-Durrance Area..., 

Texaco Manatee 

Waters Tract 

Watson Mine 



Explored. 
Producer. 
do.. 



Explored. , 
do 

Producer. . . 
Explored. . , 
Producer. . , 
Explored. . , 
do 



do 

do 

do 

Developing. 

do 

Explored. . . 
Developing. 
Explored. . . 

do 

Producer. . . 

do 

do 

Developing. 
Explored. . . 

do 

Producer. . . 
Explored. . . 

do 

do 

Producer. . . 
Explored. . . 
Producer. . . 
Developing. 
Explored. . . 

do 

Producer. . . 
Explored. . . 

do 

Producer. . . 
Explored. . . 

do 

do 



do.. 

do.. 

Producer. 
Explored. 
Producer. 
Explored. 

do.. 

do.. 



Producer. 
Explored. 

do.. 

Producer. 
do.. 



Explored. . . 
Producer. . . 
Producer. . . 
Developing. 
Explored. . . 

do 

Producer. . . 
do 



Explored. 

do.. 

do.. 

Producer. 



Freeport Phosphate Mining Co..... 

AMAX Inc 

W.R. Grace Co 

^grico Chemical Co , 

Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp ., 

C.F. Industries Inc 

Mobil Chemical Co 

IMC Corp 

Monsanto Co 

Unidentified major paper company. 

Heirs of D.C. Turner 

Occidental Chemical Co 

Mormon Church 

AMAX Inc 

ESTECH 

U.S.S. Agri-Chemicals 

Farmland Industries Inc 

do 

First Mississippi Chemical Corp., 

Agrico Chemical Co 

Mobil Chemical Co 

Gardinier Inc 

W.R. Grace Co 

Agri-Leis Corp 

T/A Minerals , 

Anco-Kellog-Howard-Loncala-Sun. . , 
First Mississippi Chemical Corp., 
Various ownerships 



.do. 



Brewster-American Cyanamid-Kerr-McGee. 

Pruitt-Thompson-Jameson-Simms 

W.R. Grace Co 

Noranda Mines Ltd 

IMC Corp 



.do. 



• do. 



Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp 

USS Agri-Chem-Gardinier-others 

Brewster Phosphates and American Cyanamld. 
W.R. Grace Co 



• do. 



Type of 
operation 



U.S.S. Agri-Chemicals 

Various ownerships 

W.R. Grace Co. and others 

Mobil Chemical Co 

Southern Resin Corp 

IMC Corp 

Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp 

Various ownerships 

U.S. Forest Service 

Agrico Chemical Co 

do 

AMAX Inc 

T/A Minerals 

U.S.S. Agri-Chemicals and Freeport Phosphate 
Co. 

IMC Corp 

Agrico Chemical Co 

ESTECH 

Mobil Chemical Co. and others 

Gardinier Inc. 

IMC Corp 

Occidental Chemical Co 

do 



Various ownerships..., 

Texaco Inc 

U.S.S. Agri-Chemicals. 
ESTECH 



Surface. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 

Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 



1 



39 



Property name 



Property 
status 



Owner 



Type of 
operation 



FLORIDA — Continued 



Wingate Creek Mine 

Zolfo Springs Area Small Ownerships 
Zolf o-Stauf f er 



Developing. 
Explored. . . 
do 



Beker Industries 

Various ownerships... 
Stauffer Chemical Co. 



Surface. 
Do. 
Do. 



IDAHO 



Champlease-Mountain Fuel-Husky #1. 

Conda Mine and Smokey Canyon 

Diamond Creek , 

Gay Mine-Dry Valley 

Henry Mine .• 

Maybe Canyon Mine 



N . Henry-Trail-Caldwell-Blackf oot . 
Wooley Valley-Rasmus sen Ridge 



Developing. 
Producer. . . 
Explored. . . 
Producer. . . 

do 

do 



Developing. 
Producer. . . 



Beker Industries 

J.R. Simplot Co 

Alumet Corp 

J. R. Simplot Co. and FMC Corp 

Monsanto Co 

Beker-Western Fertilizer Consortium (Conda 
Partnership) . 

Monsanto Co 

Stauffer Chemical Co 



Surface. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 

Do. 
Do. 



MONTANA 



Warm Springs Creek | Producer | Cominco American Inc. | Underground. 

NORTH CAROLINA 



Lee Creek Mine 

North Carolina Phosphate. 



Producer. . . 
Developing. 



Texas Gulf Chemical Corp 

North Carolina Phosphate Corp. 



Surface. 
Do. 



TENNESSEE 



Hickman and Maury Co. properties... 

Hooker Chemical properties 

Monsanto properties 

Stauffer Chemical Co. property 

Tennessee Valley Authority Reserves 



Producer 

do 

do 

do 

Past producer 



M.C. West Inc 

Hooker Chemical Co 

Monsanto Co 

Stauffer Chemical Co. and others. 
Tennessee Valley Authority 



Surface, 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 



UTAH 



Central Wasatch Range #1. 
Central Wasatch Range #2. 
Crawford Mountains //I.... 
Crawford Mountains #2.... 
Crawford Mountains §3.... 
Crawford Mountains #A.... 
Crawford Mountains #5.... 

Flaming Gorge #1 

Flaming Gorge #2 

Flaming Gorge #3 

Northern Wasatch Range... 

Vernal Field #1 

Vernal Field #2 

Vernal Field #3 

Vernal Field #4 

Vernal Field #5 

Vernal Mine 



Explored. 

do.. 

do.. 

do.. 



.do. 
.do. 
.do. 



.do. 
.do. 
.do. 



do.. 

do.. 

Explored. 
do.. 



do.. 

do.. 

Producer. 



Public land, unleased. 
do 



Stauffer Chemical Co, 

do 

do 



.do, 
.do. 



Public land, unleased. 
do 



do 

do 

U.S. Steel. 

do 

do 



do. 

do. 

Chevron. 



Surface. 

Underground. 

Surface. 

Do. 
Underground. 

Do. 

Do. 
Surface. 
Underground. 

Do. 
Surface. 

Do. 

Do. 
Underground. 

Do. 

Do. 
Surface. 



WYOMING 



Gros Ventre Range #1 

Gros Ventre Range #2 

Hoback Range #1 

Hoback Range #2 

Hoback Range #3 

S.E. Wind River Range #1. 
S.E. Wind River Range #2. 

Salt River Range #1 

Salt River Range #2 

Salt River Range #3 

Snake River #1 

Snake River #2 



Snake River 
Snake River 



//3. 
#5. 



Snake River 
South Ridges #1. . . 
South Ridges #2. . . 
South Ridges #3. . . 
Sublette Range #1. 
Sublette Range #2. 

TUN? #1 

TUNP #2 

TUNP //3 

TUNP #4 

Wyoming Range #1., 
Wyoming Range #2.. 



Explored. 

do.. 

do.. 



.do. 
.do. 
.do. 



do 

do 

Explored 

do 

do 



.do., 
.do., 
.do.. 



.do 

.do 

.do 



do 

Past producer 

Explored 

do 

do 

do 



.do. 
.do. 
.do. 



Public land, unleased. 
do 



.do. 
.do. 



.do. 



.do. 
.do. 



.do. 



.do. 
.do. 
.do. 



.do. 
.do. 
.do. 



.do, 
.do, 
.do. 



.do, 
.do, 
.do, 
.do, 
.do. 



.do. 
.do. 
.do. 
.do. 



Surface. 

Underground. 

Surface. 

Do. 
Underground. 
Surface. 
Underground. 
Surface. ' 
Underground. 

Do. 
Surface. 
Underground. 
Surface. 
Underground. 

Do. 
Surface. 
Underground. 

Do. 
Surface. 
Underground. 
Surface. 

Do. 
Underground. 

Do. 
Surface. 
Underground. 



40 



APPENDIX B.~THE ZELLARS-WILLIAMS COST MODEL FOR FLORIDA 
PHOSPHATE—DESCRIPTION OF TYPICAL CASES 



The following are descriptions of the 
six Zellars-Williams , Inc., cost models 
for Florida phosphate deposits. The 
descriptions and following discussions 
are taken almost entirely from the 
Zellars-Williams final report entitled 
"Evaluation of the Phosphate Deposits of 
Florida Using the Minerals Availability 
System" (20). 

Case I 

Large mine (2,750,000 to 4,500,000 tons 
of product per year). 

Low matrix X in the 2.8- to 3.5-yard- 
per-ton range. 

High pebble-to-concentrate ratio (that 
is, pebble ranging from 40 to 50 pet of 
the total product). 

Average product above 32 pet P2O5. 

Mine at least 10 years old. 

Case II 

Medium-sized mine (1,360,000 to 
2,750,000 tons of product per year). 

Reserve characteristics same as case I, 

Mine at least 10 years old. 

Case IIA 

Medium-sized mine (1,360,000 to 
2,750,000 tons of product per year). 

Reserve characteristics same as case I. 

Mine not more than 2 years old. 

Case III 

Small mine (900,000 to 1,360,000 tons 
of product per year). 



Case IV 

Large mine (2,750,000+ tons of product 
per year) . 

High matrix X in the 3.8- to 4.5-yard- 
per-ton range. 

Low pebble-to-concentrate ratio (that 
is, pebble ranging from 10 to 20 pet of 
the total product). 

Lower P2O5 grade (30.7 to 31.1 pet 
P2O5) with higher MgO content. 

Case V 

Small mine (900,000 to 1,800,000 tons 
of product per year) . 

Reserve characteristics similar to 
case IV. 

Cases I, II, IIA, and III represent 
existing mines with high-grade reserves 
typical of the active mining area in cen- 
tral Florida. Cases IV and V represent 
new or proposed mines with low-grade re- 
serves typical of the areas iimnediately 
to the south, but applicable to other 
areas in the State. Table B-1 summarizes 
production cost data developed for the 
six cases, and tables B-2 through B-13 
provide a more detailed itemization of 
costs. 

Factors Affecting Production Costs 

The detailed study of production cost 
data for existing and proposed mines led 
to identifying the key factors affecting 
production costs. The two variables 
found to have the greatest influence 
on production costs were (1) matrix 
X (recoverable product per unit volume 
of ore) and (2) mine size (production 
rate) . 



Reserve characteristics same as case I. 



41 



TABLE B-1. - Mining and milling production cost summary 





Dollars per 


ton of product (dry, f.o.b. mill) 




Case I 


Case II 


Case IIA 


Case III 


Case IV 


Case V 


Direct cost. .............. 


12.91 

.80 

1.46 


13.91 
1.01 
1.46 


13.53 

.86 

1.46 


16.14 
1.31 
1.46 


15.41 

.78 

1.85 


16.38 


Indirect cost. ............ 


1.26 


Fixed cos t 


1.85 






Total 


15.17 


16.38 


15.85 


18.91 


18.04 


19.49 







TABLE B-2. - Production cost of typical large mine in higher quality ore (case I) 



Total operating cost 
per ton of product 
(dry, f.o.b.) 



Cost summary by category 



Cost per ton of ore 

(dry, f.o.b. mill) 



Mine Mill Total 



Raw materials, utilities, and support: 

Power , 

Reagents , 

Fuel (gasoline and diesel) , 

Fuel (fuel oil drying)! , 

Supplies , 

Mobile mine-support equipment.. , 

Outside services (dam construction and 
reclamation) , 

Direct labor: 

Operating , 

Supervisory , 

Plant maintenance: 

Labor , 

Supervision , 

Maintenance parts and supplies , 

Replacement mine pipe , 

Payroll overhead (fringes, etc.) , 

Subtotal direct costs...... , 



Administrative, technical, clerical labor. 

Payroll overhead (administrative) 

Facilities maintenance and supplies 

General overhead (including head office, 

charges, exploration, and research) 

Subtotal indirect costs 



Total direct and indirect costs, 



Local taxes, 
Insurance. . , 



Subtotal fixed costs, 
Grand total cost...., 



$3.10 

1.19 

.04 

2.58 

.35 

.14 

.78 

1.46 
.40 

.50 
.25 
1.32 
.21 
.59 



12.91 



.45 
.12 
.07 

.16 



.80 



13.71 



1.40 
.06 



1.46 



15.17 



$0.31 


.01 


.07 
.03 

.19 

.20 
.06 

.06 
.03 
.16 
.05 
.08 



$0.46 
.29 


.64 
.02 









.16 
.04 

.06 
.03 
.17 
) 
.07 



1.25 



1.94 



.06 
.01 
.01 

.02 



.06 
.01 
.01 

.02 



,10 



10 



1.35 



2.04 



.29 
,01 



.05 
.01 



.30 



.06 



1.65 



2.10 



$0.77 
.29 
.01 
.64 
.09 
.03 

.19 

.36 

.10 

.12 
.06 
.33 
.05 
.15 



3.19 



.12 
.02 
.02 

.04 



.20 



3.39 



.34 
.02 



.36 



3.75 



^Rock may or may not be dried in all cases since phosphoric acid processes are now 
available for the use of wet rock. Cost presented is for dry rock. 



42 



TABLE B-3. - Production cost of typical medium-sized mine in higher quality ore 
(case II) 



Total operating cost 
per ton of product 
(dry, f.o.b») 



Cost summary by category 



Cost per ton of ore 
(dry, f.o.b. mill) 



Mine Mill Total 



Raw materials, utilities, and support: 

Power 

Reagents 

Fuel (gasoline and diesel) 

Fuel (fuel oil drying)' 

Supplies , 

Mobile mine-support equipment , 

Outside services (dam construction and 

reclamation) 

Direct labor: 

Operating 

Supervisory , 

Plant maintenance: 

Labor 

Supervision 

Maintenance parts and supplies 

Replacement mine pipe 

Payroll overhead (fringes, etc.) 

Subtotal direct costs 



Administrative, technical, clerical labor. 

Payroll overhead (administrative) 

Facilities maintenance and supplies 

General overhead (including head office, 

charges, exploration, and research) 

Subtotal indirect costs 



Total direct and indirect costs, 



Local taxes, 
Insurance. . . 



Subtotal fixed costs, 
Grand total cost..... 



$2.40 

1.51 

.06 

2.58 

.36 

.21 

.63 

1.80 
.53 

.63 
.33 
1.89 
.22 
.76 



13.91 



.63 
.16 
.07 

.15 



1.01 



14.92 



1.40 
.06 



1.46 



16.38 



$0.24 


.02 


.07 
.05 

.16 

.25 
.08 

.08 
.04 
.24 
.06 
.11 



$0.36 
.38 


.65 
.02 













.20 

.05 

.08 
.04 
.24 
I 
.09 



1.40 



2.11 



.08 
.02 
.01 

.02 



.08 
.02 
.01 

.02 



13 



.13 



1.53 



2.24 



.30 
.01 



.05 
.01 



.31 



.06 



1.84 



2.30 



$0.60 
.38 
.02 
.65 
.09 
.05 

.16 

.45 
.13 

.16 
.08 
.48 
.06 
.20 



3.51 



.16 

.04 
.02 

.04 



.26 



3.77 



.35 
.02 



.37 



4.14 



'Rock may or may not be dried in all cases since phosphoric acid processes 
available for the use of wet rock. Cost presented is for dry rock. 



are now 



43 



TABLE B-4. - Production cost of typical medium-sized mine in higher quality ore 
(case IIA) 



Cost summary by category 



Total operating cost 
per ton of product 
(dry, f.o.b.) 



Cost per ton of ore 
(dry, f.o.b. mill) 



Mine 



Mill Total 



Raw materials, utilities, and support: 

Power 

Reagents 

Fuel (gasoline and diesel) 

Fuel (fuel oil drying)! , 

Supplies 

Mobile mine-support equipment. 

Outside services (dam construction and 
reclamation) , 

Direct labor: 

Operating , 

Supervisory , 

Plant maintenance: 

Labor , 

Supervision , 

Maintenance parts and supplies , 

Replacement mine pipe , 

Payroll overhead (fringes, etc.) , 

Subtotal direct costs , 



Administrative, technical, clerical labor. 

Payroll overhead (administrative) 

Facilities maintenance and supplies 

General overhead (including head office, 

charges, exploration, and research) 

Subtotal indirect costs 



Total direct and indirect costs, 



Local taxes, 
Insurance. . , 



Subtotal fixed costs. 
Grand total cost...., 



$2.80 

1.97 

.05 

2.58 

.32 

.16 

.59 

1.54 
.43 

.53 
.27 
1.47 
.18 
.64 



13.53 



.51 
.13 
.07 

.15 



.86 



14.39 



1.40 
.06 



1.46 



15.85 



$0.34 


.02 


.07 
.05 

.18 

.25 
.08 

.08 
.04 
.22 
.06 
.11 



$0.51 
.59 


.77 
.02 





1.50 



.08 
.02 
.01 

.02 



.13 



1.63 



.36 
.01 



.37 



2.00 











.21 
.05 

.08 
.04 
.22 
) 
.09 



2.58 



.08 
.02 
.01 

.02 



.13 



2.71 



.06 
.01 



.07 



2.78 



$0.85 
.59 
.02 
.77 
.09 
.05 

.18 

.46 
.13 

.16 
.08 
.44 
.06 
.20 



4.08 



.16 

.04 
.02 

.04 



.26 



4.34 



.42 
.02 



.44 



4.78 



'Rock may or may not be dried in all cases since phosphoric acid processes are now 
available for the use of wet rock. Cost presented is for dry rock. 



44 



TABLE B-5. - Production cost of typical small mine in higher quality ore (case III) 



Cost summary by category 


Total operating cost 
per ton of product 
(dry, f.o.b.) 


Cost per ton of ore 
(dry, f.o.b. mill) 




Mine 


Mill 


Total 


Raw materials, utilities, and support: 
Power 


$2.56 

1.77 

.08 

2.58 

.46 

.26 

.70 

2.31 
.70 

.76 
.41 
2.11 
.47 
.97 


$0.29 


.02 


.10 
.07 

.20 

.36 
.12 

.11 
.06 
.30 
.13 
.15 


$0.43 
.50 


.73 
.03 





.29 
.08 

.11 
.06 
.30 

.12 


$0.72 
-50 


Reagents 


Fuel (gasoline and diesel) 

Fuel (fuel oil drying)! 

Supplies ................................ 


.02 
.73 
.13 


Mobile mine-support equipment 

Outside services (dam construction and 
reclamation) 


.07 
.20 


Direct labor: 

Operating 


.65 


Supervisory ............................. 


.20 


Plant maintenance: 


.22 


Supervision 


.12 




.60 


Replacement mine pipe. .................. 


.13 


Payroll overhead (fringes, etc.) 


.27 


Subtotal direct costs 


16.14 


1.91 


2.65 


4.56 






Administrative, technical, clerical labor. 


.83 
.20 
.10 

.18 


.12 
.03 
.01 

.03 


.12 
.03 
.01 

.03 


.24 
.06 


Facilities maintenance and supplies 

General overhead (including head office, 
charges, exploration, and research) 


.02 
.06 


Subtotal indirect costs. ............. 


1.31 


.19 


.19 


.38 








17.45 


2.10 


2.84 


4.94 


Local taxes ............................... 


1.40 
.06 


.34 
.01 


.06 
.01 


.40 


Insurance ................................. 


.02 






Subtotal fixed costs 


1.46 


.35 


.07 


.42 






Grand total cost 


18.91 


2.45 


2.91 


5.36 



'Rock may or may not be dried in all cases since phosphoric acid processes are now 
available for the use of wet rock. Cost presented is for dry rock. 



45 



TABLE B-6. - Production cost of typical large mine in lower quality ore (case IV) 



Cost summary by category 



Total operating cost 

per ton of product 

(dry, f.o.b.) 



Cost per ton of ore 
(dry, f.o.b. mill) 



Mine Mill Total 



Raw materials, utilities, and support: 

Power , 

Reagents , 

Fuel (gasoline and diesel) , 

Fuel (fuel oil drying) ' , 

Supplies , 

Mobile mine-support equipment , 

Outside services (dam construction and 
reclamation) , 

Direct labor: 

Operating 

Supervisory , 

Plant maintenance: 

Labor , 

Supervision 

Maintenance parts and supplies 

Replacement mine pipe 

Payroll overhead (fringes, etc.) , 

Subtotal direct costs , 



Administrative, technical, clerical labor. 

Payroll overhead (administrative) 

Facilities maintenance and supplies 

General overhead (including head office, 

charges, exploration, and research) 

Subtotal indirect costs 



Total direct and indirect costs. 



Local taxes, 
Insurance, , . 



Subtotal fixed costs, 
Grand total cost...., 



$4.02 

2.89 

.05 

2.58 

.32 

.15 

.59 

1.48 
.40 

.51 
.25 
1.37 
.19 
.61 



15.41 



.48 
.12 
.06 

.12 



.78 



16.19 



1.79 
.06 



1.85 



18.04 



$0.26 


.01 


.04 
.02 

.10 

.13 

.04 

.04 
.04 
.11 
.03 
.06 



$0.39 
.47 


.42 
.01 









.11 
.03 

.04 
.02 
.11 
) 
.04 



,88 



1,64 



,04 
,01 
,01 

,01 



,04 
.01 







.01 



.07 



.06 



.95 



1.70 



.25 
.01 



.04 



,26 



,04 



1,21 



1.74 



$0.65 
.47 
.01 
.42 
.05 
.02 

.10 

.24 
.07 

.08 
.06 
.22 
.03 
.10 



2.52 



.08 
.02 
.01 

.02 



,13 



2,65 



.29 
.01 



.30 



2.95 



iRock may or may not be dried in all cases since phosphoric acid processes are now 
available for the use of wet rock. Cost presented is for dry rock. 



46 



TABLE B-7. - Production cost of typical small mine in lower quality ore (case V) 



Cost summary by category 



Total operating cost 
per ton of product 
(dry, f.o.b.) 



Cost per ton of ore 
(dry, f.o.b. mill) 



Mine Mill Total 



Raw materials, utilities, and support: 

Power , 

Reagents 

Fuel (gasoline and diesel) , 

Fuel (fuel oil drying) 1 , 

Supplies c 

Mobile mine-support equipment , 

Outside services (dam construction and 
reclamation) , 

Direct labor: 

Operating , 

Supervisory , 

Plant maintenance: 

Labor , 

Supervision , 

Maintenance parts and supplies , 

Replacement mine pipe , 

Payroll overhead (fringes, etc.) , 

Subtotal direct costs , 



Administrative, technical, clerical labor. 

Payroll overhead (administrative) 

Facilities maintenance and supplies 

General overhead (including head office, 

charges, exploration, and research) 

Subtotal indirect costs 



Total direct and indirect costs, 



Local taxes, 
Insurance. . 



Subtotal fixed costs, 



$2.82 

2.02 

.08 

2.58 

.42 

.26 

.81 

2.15 
.67 

.75 
.40 
2.28 
.22 
.92 



16.38 



.78 
.19 
.09 

.20 



1.26 



17.64 



1.79 
.06 



1.85 



$0.24 


.02 


.07 
.06 

.17 

.26 
.09 

.08 
.04 
.25 
.05 
.11 



1.44 



.08 
.02 
.01 

.02 



.13 



1.57 



.33 
.01 



,34 



$0.37 
.44 


.56 
.02 













.21 
.06 

.08 
.04 
.36 
I 
.09 



2.23 



.08 
.02 
.01 

.02 



13 



2.36 



,06 
,01 



,07 



$0.61 
.44 
.02 
.56 
.09 
.06 

.17 

.47 
.15 

.16 

.08 
.61 
.05 
.20 



3.67 



.16 

.04 
.02 

.04 



.26 



3.93 



.39 

.02 



.41 



Grand total cost | 19.49 | 1.91 | 2.43 | 4.34 

'Rock may or may not be dried in all cases since phosphoric acid processes are now 
available for the use of wet rock. Cost presented is for dry rock. 



Generally, the more ore that must be 
processed to yield a ton of product, the 
higher the production cost. Tables B-2 
through B-7 show that the production cost 
for cases I through III, representing the 
lower matrix X ore bodies, is substan- 
tially lower than that for mines with 
higher matrix X ore (cases IV and V, 
tables B-6 and B-7). Other ore and min- 
ing factors that influence production 



costs are listed and briefly discussed 
below: 

Total X . - Total X refers to the total 
yards of overburden plus ore that must be 
handled to produce a dry ton of product. 
Since draglines can move overburden very 
inexpensively, total X generally has a 
minor effect on production costs if the 
overburden is reasonably stable. If the 



47 



overburden is sufficiently thick, larger Matrix Clay Content . - The clay content 

draglines may be required that increase of the ore is significant because in- 

both capital and production costs. creased clay demands more extensive waste 

disposal and often affects the attrition- 
Concentrate-to-Pebble Ratio . - Because ability of the ore. Tough, heavy clays 
pebble is less expensive to produce than can slow pumping rates, reduce pro- 
concentrate, ore containing pebble is duction, and contaminate benef iciation 
usually associated with a lower produc- products, 
tion cost and better product recovery, 

TABLE B-8. - Operating parameters for average mine (case I) 
(3.10 million tons of product per year; 12.76 million tons of ore per year) 

Production: 

Pebble million tons. . 1.77 

Total concentrate do 1.33 

Pebble-concentrate ratio 1.33 

Total production million tons. . 3. 10 

Mining data: 

Matrix depth ft.. 11.9 

Overburden depth ft. . 26.7 

Total depth ft. . 38.6 

Matrix density Ib/f t3. , 88.5 

Matrix Xl yd^/ton product.. 3.4 

Total X2 do 11.1 

Tons of matrix per ton of product^ 4.11 

Matrix, average pumping distance mi. . 2.92 

Slimes in matrix pet. . 28 

Slimes per year tons or acre ft.. 9,880 

Tailing million tons/yr. . 6.748 

Tailings, average pumping distance mi.. 2.85 

Operating time hr/yr. . 8,760 

Number of operating days per year 365 

Acres mined per year 610 

Equipment data: 

Number of draglines 2 

Size of draglines yd3.. 45 

Number of pumping systems 2 

Number of washer trains 2 

Number of flotation plant trains 2 

Number of dryers 1 

Mine Mill 
Operating personnel: 

Operating labor 75 61 

Direct production supervision 25 17 

Maintenance labor 22 20 

Maintenance supervision 12 12 

Technical 15 14 

General administrative 12 12 



Total 161 136 

^Matrix X = yd^ of ore that must be processed to yield a ton of product. 
^Total X = yd^ of overburden plus ore that must be handled or processed 
to yield a ton of product. 

^(Matrix X) (density or tons/yd^) = tons of matrix/ton of product. 



48 



TABLE B-9. - Operating parameters for average mine (case II) 
(1.95 million tons of product per year; 7.80 million tons of ore per year) 

Production: 

Pebble million tons. . 1.10 

Total concentrate do .85 

Pebble-concentrate ratio 1.29 

Total production million tons. . 1.95 

Mining data: 

Matrix depth ft. . 16.2 

Overburden depth f t. . 28. 1 

Total depth ft. . 44.3 

Matrix density Ib/f t3. , 92.6 

Matrix X' yd^/ton product.. 3.2 

Total X2 do 8.7 

Tons of matrix per ton of product3 4.00 

Matrix, average pumping distance mi.. 1.94 

Slimes in matrix' pet.. 35.0 

Slimes per year tons or acre ft.. 7,959 

Tailing million tons/yr. . 3.22 

Tailings, average pumping distance mi.. 2.0 

Operating time hr/yr. . 8,760 

Number of operating days per year 365 

Acres mined per year 263 

Equipment data: 

Number of draglines 2 

Size of draglines yd^,. 45 

Number of pumping systems 2 

Number of washer trains 2 

Number of flotation plant trains 2 

Number of dryers 1 

Mine Mill 
Operating personnel: 

Operating labor 65 59 

Direct production supervision 23 16 

Maintenance labor 20 19 

Maintenance supervision 11 11 

Technical 14 13 

General administrative 12 11 



Total 145 129 



'Matrix X = yd^ of ore that must be processed to yield a ton of product. 
^Total X = yd^ of overburden plus ore that must be handled or processed to yield a 
ton of product. 

^(Matrix X) (density or tons/yd^) = tons of matrix/ton of product. 



49 

TABLE B-10. - Operating parameters for average mine (case IIA) 
(2.54 million tons of product per year; 8.58 million tons of ore per year) 

Production: 

Pebble million tons. . 1.16 

Total concentrate do 1.38 

Pebble-concentrate ratio .85 

Total production million tons. . 2.54 

Mining data: 

Matrix depth ft. . 13.0 

Overburden depth ft.. 26.4 

Total depth ft. . 39.5 

Matrix density Ib/f t3. . 88.0 

Matrix X^ yd^/ton product.. 2.8 

Total X2 do 8.6 

Tons of matrix per ton of product^ 3.38 

Matrix, average pumping distance mi.. 2.1 

Slimes in matrix pet.. 27.0 

Slimes per year tons or acre ft.. 6,170 

Tailing million tons/yr . . 6 ,076 

Tailings, average pumping distance ml.. 2.0 

Operating time hr/yr. . 8,760 

Number of operating days per year 365 

Acres mined per year 380 

Equipment data: 

Number of draglines 2 

Size of draglines yd^.. 45 

Number of pumping systems 2 

Number of washer trains 2 

Number of flotation plant trains 2 

Number of dryers 1 

Mine Mill 
Operating personnel: 

Operating labor 65 59 

Direct production supervision 23 16 

Maintenance labor 20 19 

Maintenance supervision 11 11 

Technical 14 13 

General administrative 12 11 



Total 145 129 



'Matrix X = yd^ of ore that must be processed to yield a ton of product. 
^Total X = yd^ of overburden plus ore that must be handled or processed to yield a 
ton of product. 

^(Matrix X) (density or tons/yd^) = tons of matrix/ton of product. 



50 



TABLE B-11. - Operating parameters for average mine (case III) 
(1.12 million tons of product per year; 4.02 million tons of ore per year) 



I 



Production: 

Pebble million tons. . 0.34 

Total concentrate do .58 

Pebble-concentrate ratio .97 

Total production million tons.. 1.12 

Mining data: 

Matrix depth ft. . 14.6 

Overburden depth .ft. . 20.0 

Total depth ft. . 34.6 

Matrix density Ib/f t3. . 90.0 

Matrix X^ yd^/ton product.. 2.9 

Total X2 do 7.1 

Tons of matrix per ton of product 3.60 

Matrix, average pumping distance^ mi.. 4.59 

Slimes in matrix pet. . 39 

Slimes per year tons or acre ft.. 4,098 

Tailing million tons/yr. . 2. 290 

Tailings, average pumping distance mi.. 2.5 

Operating time hr/yr. . 8,760 

Number of operating days per year 365 

Acres mined per year 156 

Equipment data: 

Number of draglines 1 

Size of draglines yd^.. 45 

Number of pumping systems 1 

Number of washer trains 1 

Number of flotation plant trains 1 

Number of dryers 1 

Mine Mill 
Operating personnel: 

Operating labor 41 30 

Direct production supervision. 16 11 

Maintenance labor 14 13 

Maintenance supervision 8 7 

Technical 11 10 

General administrative 8 8 



Total 98 99 

^Matrix X = yd^ of ore that must be processed to yield a ton of product. 
^Total X = yd^ of overburden plus ore that must be handled or processed to yield a 
ton of product. 

^(Matrix X) (density or tons/yd^) = tons of matrix/ton of product. 



51 

TABLE B-12, - Operating parameters for average mine (case IV) 
{2,12 million tons of product per year; 16.63 million tons of ore per year) 

Production: 

Pebble million tons. . 0.54 

Total concentrate do 2.18 

Pebble-concentrate ratio .25 

Total production million tons . . 2.72 

Mining data: 

Matrix depth ft. . 34.2 

Overburden depth f t. . 31.6 

Total depth ft. . 65.8 

Matrix density Ib/f t3. . 92.5 

Matrix X' yd^/ton product.. 4.9 

Total X2 do 9.4 

Tons of matrix per ton of product 3 6.11 

Matrix, average pumping distance mi.. 2.25 

Slimes in matrix pet. . 22 

Slimes per year tons or acre ft.. 10,334 

Tailing million tons/yr. . 7.041 

Tailings, average pumping distance mi.. 2.25 

Operating time hr/yr. . 8,760 

Number of operating days per year 365 

Acres mined per year 267 

Equipment data: 

Number of draglines 2 

Size of draglines yd^.. 45 

Number of pumping systems 2 

Number of washer trains 2 

Number of flotation plant trains 2 

Number of dryers 1 

Mine Mill 

Operating personnel: 

Operating labor 65 59 

Direct production supervision 23 16 

Maintenance labor 20 19 

Maintenance supervision 11 11 

Technical 14 13 

General administrative 12 11 

Total 145 129 

^Matrix X = yd^ of ore that must be processed to yield a ton of product. 

^Total X = yd3 of overburden plus ore that must be handled or processed to yield a 

ton of product. 

^(Matrix X) (density or tons/yd3) = tons of matrix/ton of product. 



52 

TABLE B-13. - Operating parameters for average mine (case V) 
(1.42 million tons of product per year; 6.58 million tons of ore per year) 

Production: 

Pebble million tons. . 0.56 

Total concentrate do .86 

Pebble-concentrate ratio .65 

Total production million tons.. 1.42 

Mining data: 

Matrix depth ft. . 15.6 

Overburden depth ft. . 20.0 

Total depth ft. . 35.6 

Matrix density Ib/f t3. . 90.7 

Matrix X' yd^/ton product, . 3.8 

Total X2 do 9.3 

Tons of matrix per ton of product^ 4.62 

Matrix, average pumping distance mi. . 1,4 

Slimes in matrix pet. . 28 

Slimes per year tons or acre ft.. 5,043 

Tailing million tons/yr. . 3. 198 

Tailings, average pumping distance mi.. 1.4 

Operating time hr/yr. . 8,760 

Number of operating days per year 365 

Acres mined per year 253 

Equipment data: 

Number of draglines 2 

Size of draglines yd 3 . . 45 

Number of pumping systems 2 

Number of washer trains 2 

Number of flotation plant trains 2 

Number of dryers 1 

Mine Mill 
Operating personnel: 

Operating labor , 57 56 

Direct production supervision , . , 21 14 

Maintenance labor 18 17 

Maintenance supervision 10 10 

Technical 13 12 

General administrative 11 10 



Total 130 119 



^Matrix X = yd^ of ore that must be processed to yield a ton of product, 
^Total X = yd^ of overburden plus ore that must be handled or processed to yield a 
ton of product. 

^(Matrix X) (density or tons/yd^) = tons of matrix/ton of product. 



53 



Feed Grade . - Feed grade refers to the 
P2O5 concentration of the sand-size mate- 
rial in the ore. Generally the higher 
the feed grade, the lower the reagent 
cost incurred in the producing a ton of 
concentrate. 



Total Depth . - Total depth, the total 
depth in the operating pit, is the sum of 
the overburden and ore thickness. Gener- 
ally the effect of total depth on produc- 
tion costs is minor up to depths of 70 
to 80 ft. Greater depths, however, in- 
crease costs through overburden rehan- 
dling or larger capital expenditures for 
draglines. 

Contaminant Content of Ore . - Magnesium 
and insoluble iron and aluminum con- 
tent of the ore also affect production 
cost. Dolomitic fragments or coating 
may cause problems in feed prepara- 
tion or flotation; high insoluble lev- 
els may cause flotation difficulties. 
High product-contaminant content may 
increase production cost per ton 
through the exclusion of otheirwise suit- 
able ore or through additional pro- 
cess requirements to make the product 
acceptable. 

Production rate is the second major 
factor affecting production costs. Many 
cost inputs into a mining operation are 
not directly proportional to size. As 
the production rate increases, the cost 
per ton for these relatively fixed costs 
decreases. All other factors being 
equal, larger mines in volume of produc- 
tion have the cost advantage. Tables B-2 
through B-7 show the definite correla- 
tion between mine size and production 
cost. 



Capital Costs 

Capital costs, estimated or based on 
known data, are summarized in tables B-14 
and B-15. The costs are for nonpro- 
ducing deposits (cases IV and V) in Jan- 
uary 1981 dollars. Capital-cost esti- 
mates for producing operations (in book 
value as of January 1978) are detailed 
elsewhere ( 20 ) . 

Capital outlay can have a profound in- 
fluence on unit production costs, as 
related to interest on invested capital 
and depreciation of capital facilities. 
Capital requirements for ore, equipment, 
and facilities have escalated rapidly in 
recent years; therefore, existing mines 
will incur interest and depreciation 
expenses on a much smaller base than 
newer or proposed mines. The initial 
capital investment on many existing mines 
has been largely depreciated. This 
depreciation was largely responsible for 
separating the higher production costs 
for the new existing mines grouped as 
case IIA from those of the older mines 
with otherwise similar characteristics 
grouped in case II. 

Other miscellaneous factors also influ- 
ence production costs. Long pumping dis- 
tances , requiring heavy expenditures for 
power, pumps, and pipe, force production 
costs upward. Mine recovery, the per- 
centage of the ore recovered from the 
mining pit, markedly affects total proj- 
ect economics through its influence on 
actual reserve costs and mine life. 
Although influencing the frequency of pit 
moves, production rate, etc., mine recov- 
ery is generally not a recognized major 
factor in direct production costs. 



54 

TABLE B-14. - Capital costs of typical large mine in lower quality ore (case IV) 

Capital cost, 
million dollars 

Mine area: 

Roads 0.4 

Utilities 5.2 

Buildings .4 

Mine equipment : 

Prime movers (draglines).... 19.1 

Hydraulic water and ore transportation 9.6 

Mine-support equipment 1.9 

Miscellaneous 1.2 



Subtotal mine capital 37.8 



Exploration and development 3.7 

Land acquisition (land reserves cost) 48.2 

Permitting and environmental 1.1 

Working capital ( 90 days ) 5.5 

Subtotal other capital 58.5 



Total mine capital 96.3 



Mill area: 

Roads .5 

Utilities 2.5 

Buildings (office only) 1.0 

Process units: 1 

Washer 22.2 

Feed preparation 7.4 

Reagent storage 4.9 

Flotation 28.4 

Water distribution and waste disposal 3.7 

Wet-rock storage, drying, and shipping 7.4 

Of f sites2 6.7 

Subtotal mill capital 

Working capital (90 days ) 

Permitting and environmental 

Subtotal other capital 

Total mill 

Grand total mine an d mill 193.6 

'Complete units including equipment ready to operate. 
^Support facilities — shops, rails, laboratory, etc. 



84. 


7 


12. 



6 


12. 


6 


97. 


3 



55 

TABLE B-15. - Capital costs of typical large mine in lower quality ore (case V) 

Capital cost, 
million dollars 

Mine area: 

Roads 0.2 

Utilities 3.1 

Buildings .2 

Mine equipment: 

Prime movers (draglines).. 11.4 

Hydraulic water and ore transportation 5.7 

Mine-support equipment 1.1 

Miscellaneous .7 



Subtotal mine capital 22.4 



Exploration and development 2.9 

Land acquisition (land reserves cost) 38.0 

Permitting and environmental .8 

Working capital (90 days) 3.4 

Subtotal other capital 45. 1 



Total mine capital 67.5 



Mill area: 

Roads .3 

Utilities 1.5 

Buildings (office only) .6 

Process units: 1 

Washer 13.2 

Feed preparation 4.4 

Reagent storage 2.9 

Flotation 16.9 

Water distribution and waste disposal 2.2 

Wet-rock, storage, drying, and shipping 4.4 

Of f sites2 4.0 



Subtotal mill capital 50.4 



Working capital (90 days) 7.8 

Permitting and environmental 

Subtotal other capital 7.8 



Total mill 58.2 



Grand total mine an d mill 125.7 

^Complete units including equipment ready to operate. 
^Support facilities — shops, rails, laboratory, etc. 



56 



APPENDIX C. —DOMESTIC PHOSPHATE REGULATORY AND ENVIRONMENTAL 
CONSTRAINTS AND PERMITTING 



Starting up a phosphate mining opera- 
tion in the United States has become 
increasingly more difficult and time con- 
suming in recent years (particularly in 
Florida) because of regulatory require- 
ments, environmental studies, and lengthy 
permitting procedures. 

A number of environmental and regula- 
tory constraints developed in Florida 
over recent years reflect the public's 
concern that strip mining is a potential 
threat to two of the State's major indus- 
tries: tourism and agriculture. Issues 
of major concern to the public and, con- 
sequently, the State government include 
land aesthetics, productivity of the 
reclaimed land (most is now used by the 
agricultural industry), disruption of 
wildlife habitats and wetlands, clay 
waste disposal methods (slime ponds), 
extensive water usage, and radiation lev- 
els in overburden spoils, reclaimed 
soils, and sand-clay wastes. (Radiation 
is due to the uranium and its decay prod- 
ucts associated with phosphate rock.) 

The industry must follow an extensive 
permitting process to start a Florida 
phosphate operation. These permits force 
the mining companies to address those 
issues previously discussed. The per- 
mits, developed at all levels of gov- 
ernment (county. State, and Federal), 
are listed below. This extensive per- 
mitting is a result of public and govern- 
mental concern for the impact of min- 
ing on the local environment, economy, 
and culture. A detailed description of 
these permits appears in the Zellars- 
Williams MAS report on Florida phosphate 
availability (20). 

It should also be noted that present 
operating mines are being required to 



comply with many parameters included in 
these permits. 

The following is a list of most of the 
major permits required to develop a phos- 
phate operation in Florida: 

County 

Zoning Change 
Master Plan Approval 
Development Order 
Operating Permit 
Building Permit 

State 



Division of State Planning (through 
Regional Planning Council) : Development 

of Regional Impact 
Department of Environmental Regulation: 

Air Quality Permit 

Industrial Waste Water Permit 

Dredge and Fill Permit 

Drainage Well Permit 

Dam Construction Permit 

Potable Water Supply Permit 

Sanitary Waste Permit 
Water Management District: 

Consumptive Water Use Permit 

Water Well Construction Permit 

Works of the District Permit 
Department of Natural Resources: Recla- 
mation Standards 

Federal 

Environmental Protection Agency: 

NPDES (Water Quality) Permit 

Air Quality Standards 
Army Corps of Engineers: 

Dredge and Fill Permit 

Dam Construction in Waters of the 
United States Permit 



57 



The environmental and regulatory con- 
straints in the western field phosphate 
deposits are not so complex as those in 
Florida. Because nearly all phosphate 
deposits in the Western United States are 
within Federal lands, the right to mine 
these deposits must be obtained through a 
Federal lease agreement. These lease 
agreements specify a limit to the size of 
the mining operation, a rental fee (per 
acre), and a royalty. Leases are ob- 
tained through the U.S. Bureau of Land 
Management; development, mining, and 
reclamation activities are supervised by 
the U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. 
Forest Service is involved when lands it 
administers are leased. Environmental 



impact statements are often also written 
before leasing a deposit. Numerous other 
State and Federal agencies can be in- 
cluded in the supervision of a phosphate 
mining lease. 

Certain environmental constraints exist 
in the western fields, including reclama- 
tion of pits and waste dumps, revegeta- 
tion of the mine site, and preservation 
of water quality. 

Some of the Western States have more 
stringent regultations than others con- 
cerning regulations and environmental 
quality. 



i^rU.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1983-605-015/45 



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